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Benjamin  Lee,  2d 


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Benjamin  Lee  2np,  Ensign  U.S.N. R.F. 


BENJAMIN  LEE,  2d 


A  Record  gathered  from  Letters,  Note-books, 
and  Narratives  of  Friends 


By  His  Mother 
MARY  JUSTICE  CHASE 


*x 


*■    *  o        • 


THE  CORNHILL  COMPANY 


BOSTON  ^V 


c^:^o> 


L4C5 


COPTBIGHT   1920 

Bt  MARY  JUSTICE  CHASE 


THE   PILGRIM  PRESS 
BOSTON 


TO 

William  Justice  Lee,  Jr. 

Leighton  Lee 

Benjamin  Lee,  3d 

Daniel  Rodney  Lee 

BENJAMIN  LEE,  2d 


R?ii5S9S7 


NOTE 

Thanks  are  due  to  Reverend  Albert  J,  Coleman 
for  assistance  in  reading  and  arrangement;  to 
Paul  C.  Wagner  for  the  account  of  college  and  fra- 
ternity life;  to  Charles  F,  Fuller,  Ashton  W,  Hawkins 
and  other  friends  for  narratives  of  the  months  in 
Europe. 


FOREWORD 

Among  the  many  friends  whose  hearts  had  been 
following  Benjamin  Lee,  2d,  in  the  Great  War,  it 
is  natural  that  the  desire  should  have  arisen  to  learn 
all  that  could  be  told  of  his  last  months  of  service. 
It  was  known  to  them  that  he  had  made  careful  notes 
on  the  work  of  the  stations  to  which  he  had  been 
attached,  and  that  during  his  stay  at  Killingholme 
he  had  prepared  a  note-book  from  the  "log-book"  and 
the  "day-book"  which  he  had  kept  from  the  time  of 
sailing.  Some  of  them  also  knew  that  it  had  become 
a  second  nature  with  him,  from  early  childhood,  and  a 
need  of  both  heart  and  mind,  to  report  the  doings  of 
his  days  in  constant  letters  to  his  mother  whenever 
he  was  absent  from  her.  This  book  is  the  response 
to  the  desire  of  his  friends  to  renew  associations  which 
had  become  so  precious  to  them,  and  to  possess  some 
permanent  memorial  of  his  character  and  life. 

It  has  seemed  fitting  to  include  with  the  letters  in 
this  memorial  volume,  not  only  those  written  during 
immediate  preparation  for  the  crowning  year  of  his 
life,  but,  as  well,  some  record  of  those  earlier  influ- 
ences which  had  gone  toward  preparing  him  for  the 
supreme  hours  of  his  young  manhood. 

The  letters  of  Ben's  school  and  college  days,  like 
the  early  letters,  are  concerned  mainly  with  the  hap- 
penings of  everyday  life,  rather  than  thoughts  about 
them:  for,  though  naturally  analytical,  he  was  always 

[vii] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

shy  of  anything  approaching  egotism  in  himself;  re- 
serve and  self-restraint  characterized  both  his  con- 
versation and  his  writing.  Moreover,  in  the  large 
understanding  and  complete  sympathy  that  existed 
between  him  and  his  chief  correspondent,  there  was  no 
need  of  self-revelation  and  discussion.  All  the  more 
serious  and  intimate  disclosures  could  well  be  reserved 
for  the  continual  intercourse  that  the  meetings  in  one 
of  the  three  homes  gave  them;  and  it  becomes  evident 
in  the  letters  that  it  is  upon  these  homes  that  the 
deepest  interest  of  his  thought  and  purposes  centered. 

The  letters  written  during  boyhood  days  will  doubt- 
less have  special  interest  for  the  family;  while  the 
accounts  of  college  and  fraternity  life  have  value  for 
his  associates  and  friends;  the  water  story  in  Chapter 
I,  an  example  of  his  youthful  literary  bent,  and 
remarkable  both  for  having  been  "in  mind  for  a  year," 
and,  in  view  of  his  later  experience,  for  its  subject;  the 
letters  and  notes  covering  his  year  and  a  half  of  ser- 
vice in  the  N.  R.  F.  C,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
including  the  Eddy  stone  experience,  and  the  narrative 
of  the  last  leave,  will  make  a  more  general  appeal. 

Though  the  chances  of  war  failed  to  satisfy  Ben's 
desire  of  meeting  the  enemy  in  battle,  yet,  to  days 
of  waiting  and  arduous  routine,  he  brought  the  same 
fortitude  and  cheerful  endurance  that  the  front  lines 
would  have  demanded,  and  to  the  important  and  al- 
ways dangerous  work  of  his  stations,  a  man's  con- 
centration and  courage.  When  in  the  first  days  of 
the  struggle  the  call  came,  he  had  answered  it  not  only 
with  the  glow  of  patriotism,  but  thoughtfully,  with  a 
man's  seriousness,  conscious  of  the  way  he  was  choos- 

[viii] 


Foreword 

ing.  All  estimates  of  his  superior  officers  and  asso- 
ciates mark  him  as  ever  ready  for  the  most  difficult 
and  trying  service. 

Always  he  had  seemed,  with  a  rare  instinct,  to  hold 
the  balance  true  between  the  gifts  that  life  so  bounti- 
fully bestowed  upon  him  and  those  gifts  that  she 
demanded  of  him — even  to  the  complete  giving  of 
himself.  He  was  not  of  those  who  always  seem  to  be 
waiting  to  live;  he  lived  with  a  zest  as  he  went  along, 
quite  conscious  of  the  happiness  and  beauty  of  his 
days:  and  though  there  appeared  to  be  so  much  of 
satisfaction  and  achievement  in  store  for  him,  yet  it 
is  almost  with  surprise  that  we  find  ourselves  realizing 
how  much  he  had  made  his  few  years  tell;  and  that 
in  the  wealth  of  his  experience,  the  extent  and  depth 
of  his  personal  influence,  and  in  the  winning  of  his 
manhood,  he  had  already  lived  a  well-rounded  life,  a 
life  that  reached  the  heights  of  happiness  and  of  honor. 

A*     *J  •     V^a 


[ix] 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days,  1894-1913        3 
II    Life  at  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1913-1917       29 

III  Training  at  Miami,   Newport  News,  Norfolk, 

April,  1917,  to  December,  1917       ....      63 

IV  Foreign  Service  —  January,   1918   to  October, 

1918 117 

V    Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute    ....    281 

VI    Accounts    of    Life    in    the    Service    by  Ben's 

Friends 313 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Benjamin    Lee,    2d,    Ensign   U.S.N.R.    Flying 

Corps Frontispiece 

FACING  PACK 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d,  1906 7 

Ben  and  "  Nib,"  1909 12 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  1917 28 

Home  of  William  W.  Justice 37 

Cedar  Canoe,  1915 46 

"Farview,"  Jacksonville,  Florida 59 

Aero  Club  License 69 

Newport  News,  June,  1917 77 

Blueberry  Farm,  Camden,  Maine 93 

Naval  Base,  Norfolk,  Va.,  1917 106 

Naval  Aviator  License 113 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d,  December,  1917        .      .      .      .      .  115 

Penzance,  March,  1918 186 

Flying  Boat,  August  4,  1918 239 

Autograph  Letter 246 

Group  at  Killingholme,  October  8,  1918   ....  267 

Last  Orders,  October  28,  1918 274 


Ancestey,  Childhood  and  School-days,  1894-1913 


1      i 

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BENJAMIN  LEE,  2d 
I 

Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days,  1894-1913 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d,  born  in  Germantown,  Phila- 
delphia, November  4,  1894,  was  the  third  son  of 
Leighton  Lee  and  Mary  Justice  Lee.  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  the  late  Benjamin  Lee,  surgeon  of 
the  22d  Regiment,  N,  Y.  Vols.,  during  the  Civil  War. 
In  1894  he  was  President  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Medicine,  and  in  1898,  of  the  American  Public 
Health  Association;  but  his  most  abiding  monument 
is  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  Pennsylvania. 

Ben's  great-grandfather,  the  Right  Reverend  Al- 
fred Lee,  was  the  first  bishop  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Delaware. 

His  great,  great-grandfather,  Benjamin  Lee,  was 
born  at  Taunton,  Somersetshire,  England,  February 
26,  1765,  and,  through  his  mother,  Mary  Pitt,  was 
related  to  the  two  famous  statesmen  of  that  name. 
He  entered  the  Royal  Navy  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
and  commanded  a  battery  o^  guns  in  the  battle  of  the 
*' Saints  Passage"  near  Guadeloupe,  between  Admiral 
Rodney  and  Count  de  Grasse,  April  12,  1782.  Hav- 
ing rashly  challenged  a  superior  officer  for  counter- 
manding his  humane  orders  regarding  certain  French 
prisoners,  he  was   court-martialled  and  sentenced  to 

[3] 


•••  •  ••  •  yi  •,•    1 1  ••••••     —,      ,       .     ^ 

Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

death,  but  was  pardoned  at  the  solicitation  of  his 
brother  officer,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  afterwards 
William  IV,  and,  coming  to  America,  he  engaged  in 
the  merchant  service.  He  was  offered,  but  declined, 
the  position  of  2d  officer  of  the  frigate  Constitution, 

Ben's  New  England  forbears  include  the  colonial 
governors.  Sir  John  Leverett,  George  Wyllys  and 
John  Haynes,  Judge  John  Trumbull,  the  author  of 
the  Revolutionary  epic  poem,  "McFingal,"  and 
(elder)  John  White,  early  settlers  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  and  Hartford,  Conn. 

On  his  mother's  side  he  was  the  descendant  of  a 
long  line  of  Friends  who  were  philanthropists  and 
patriots.  His  great,  great,  great-grandfather,  War- 
ner Mifflin,^  was,  in  1775,  the  first  man  in  America 
unconditionally  to  free  his  slaves — his  father  imme- 
diately following  his  example. 

His  great,  great-grandfather,  Daniel  Neall,  and 
great-grandfather,  also  Daniel  Neall,  with  John 
Greenleaf  Whittier,  Joshua  Coffin,  Warner  Justice 
and  other  humanitarians  of  their  time,  were  inde- 
fatigable workers  in  the  cause  of  anti-slavery. 

Warner  Justice  (his  great-grandfather)  was  the 
father  of  William  W.  Justice  (the  "Gramps"  referred 
to,  in  Ben's  letters). 

It  was  Ben's  privilege  to  be  intimately  associated 
with  his  grandfather,  who  was  an  untiring  worker 
for  civic  betterment  in  Philadelphia,  the  city  of  his 
birth.  Thus  Ben  was  surrounded  and  influenced  con- 
stantly by  the  highest  ideals  of  character  and  duty, 

^  "Life  and  Ancestry  of  Warner  Mifflin."  Compiled  by  Hilda 
Justice. 

[4] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

and  was  inspired  to  carry  forward  the  fine  traditions 
of  his  family. 

1894-1913 

Ben  appeared  to  be  delicate  as  a  little  child,  partly 
because  he  was  very  fair  and  small  for  his  age.  He 
was  deliberate  about  everything  he  did,  even  in  the 
matter  of  growing,  and  did  not  attain  his  full  height 
of  five  feet,  ten  inches,  until  he  was  nearly  twenty. 
Just  after  his  fourth  birthday  he  lost  his  father 
through  a  tragic  accident.  He  developed  at  once  a 
special  thoughtfulness  and  care  for  his  mother  which 
never  failed  to  the  end  of  his  life.  For  the  next  five 
years  he  lived  at  the  home  of  his  grandparents  on 
Manheim  Street  in  Germantown,  and  the  comrade- 
ship between  him  and  his  grandfather,  William  W. 
Justice,  grew  and  strengthened.  When,  as  a  little 
child,  Ben  rode  up  the  stairs  at  bedtime  on  his  grand- 
father's shoulders,  he  called  him  his  "polo-pony" — but 
later  the  term  of  affection  for  him  was  "Gramps." 

Ben's  love  of  animals  and  tenderness  for  little  chil- 
dren were  marked  traits  from  earliest  childhood.  He 
was  very  fond  of  being  read  to,  until,  at  seven  years, 
he  became  so  engrossed  in  Howard  Pyle's  "Robin 
Hood"  that  he  began  reading  to  himself. 

After  his  second  year  all  the  summers  were  spent 
at  the  family  home,  or  a  nearby  camp,  in  Camden, 
Maine.  Here  he  revelled  in  the  joys  to  be  foimd  in 
and  on  the  water,  and  became  an  expert  swimmer, 
and  familiar  with  all  kinds  of  sailboats  and  canoes. 

His  studious  nature  and  characteristic  gentleness 
gave  his  family  some  apprehension  as  to  whether  he 

[5] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

was  fitted  to  meet  the  trials  of  life.  It  was  with  a 
feeling  of  some  relief  that  they  received  the  report 
from  his  school,  one  day,  that  Ben  had  knocked  out 
a  schoolmate's  tooth  in  a  pitched  battle. 

From  ten  to  nearly  fifteen  years  of  age  the  winter 
months  of  each  year  were  spent  in  the  Florida  home, 
where  the  "Daddy"  ^  to  whom  many  of  his  letters  are 
addressed,  filled  the  place  of  father  and  kind  advisor. 

Among  Ben's  first  letters  is  one  to  his  grandparents 
in  French  (which  he  spoke  easily  from  babyhood), 
written  just  after  coming  to  Florida  to  live  in  the 
autumn  of  1904. 


To  his  Grandparents 

Jacksonville,  Florida, 
December  18,  1904f. 

Merry  Christmas!! 

Chers  Nana  et  Grand-pere:  Aujourd'hui,  c'est 
une  magnifique  journee.  J'espere  que  vous  viendrez 
bientot  nous  voir.  J'ai  un  gentil  petit  poele  dans  ma 
chambre;  si  votre  chambre  a  froid  vous  pourrez  venir 
dans  la  mienne  vous  chauffer.  J'aime  beaucoup  la 
Floride,  c'est  une  tres  gentille  place.  J'espere  que 
vous  etes  bien  portants  tous  les  deux. 

Je  crois  que  vous  aimerez  le  coin  de  terre  que  nous 
pensons  acheter.  II  y  a  de  grands  arbres,  magnolias, 
avec  de  la  mousse.  Fifi  et  Nib  sont  bien  portants, 
je  crois  qu'ils  aiment  la  Floride. 

Nous    avons    seulement    une   cuisiniere   maintenant 

^  Joshua  Coffin  Chase. 

[6] 


1906 


>'•>>, 


•    •   7»    • 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

parceque  Tautre  bonne  est  partie,  mais  nous  nous 
tirons  d'affaire  tres  bien.  Justice  va  arriver  jeudi. 
Daddy  attend  pour  acheter  le  coin  jusqu'a  ce  que 
Justice  le  voie.  Je  suis  fache  que  vous  n'allez  pas 
etre  ici  pour  Noel. 

Tout  le  monde  envoie  des  baisers  et  de  I'affection 
pour  vous  et  Gramps. 

Votre  affectionne, 

Ben. 

Ben  learned  to  ride  in  California  in  1903,  taking 
to  the  new  exercise  with  his  usual  enthusiasm  for 
outdoor  sports.  After  the  adventure  with  the  neigh- 
bor's pony,  described  in  the  next  letter,  a  pony  was 
bought  for  him  and  his  brother  Phil.  Many  were 
the  delightful  rides  the  boys  and  their  friends  enjoyed 
through  the  wood  roads  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson- 
ville, Florida. 

To  his  Grandfather 

Jacksonville,  Florida, 
December  5,  1906. 

Deak  Gramps:  Thanks  ever  so  much  for  the  funny 
papers  you  have  been  sending  me. 

Last  year  the  Gamble  boys  had  a  pony.  This 
year  they  have  gone  to  boarding-school,  but  their 
mother  has  kept  the  pony.  Mrs.  Gamble  wants  me 
to  exercise  the  pony  for  her;  so  on  Thanksgiving 
day.  Daddy,  Mother,  Mack  Angas  and  Phil  went 
around  to  start  me  off.  The  colored  coachman  knew, 
but  did  not  say,  that  the  pony  should  be  ridden  with 
a  curb-bit,  and  Mrs.  Gamble  was  away  on  a  hunting 

[7] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

trip,  so  she  could  not  tell  us.  The  man  put  me  on 
the  pony  in  the  yard  to  try  the  stirrups  on.  When 
they  were  fixed  he  let  me  go.  The  pony  had  not  been 
ridden  for  about  two  weeks  and  he  was  wild  to  go. 

Starting  out  the  gate  I  tried  to  turn  him  toward 
Riverside,  but  I  could  not.  He  turned  toward  town 
and  scooted  for  Thomasville.  The  pony  took  me  down 
past  Riverside  Fire  Station,  going  at  "fire  alarm 
speed."  We  kept  on,  up  the  viaduct,  down  the  other 
side,  lickety-split,  on  and  on,  dodging  mule  and  horse 
teams,  and  raising  a  general  powwow. 

At  last  we  ran  into  the  sand  at  the  end  of  Bridge 
Street,  then  the  pony  ran  more  slowly,  so  I  turned 
him,  and  was  starting  home  right  at  the  corner  of 
Bridge  and  Forsyth  Street,  when  the  pony  slipped 
and(  fell!  I  was  a  little  stunned  and  a  man  picked 
me  up  and  stood  me  on  my  feet,  and  I  saw  a  big 
crowd  around.  The  pony  got  right  up  and  waited 
for  me.  A  colored  boy  said  he  would  take  the  pony 
home  for  me,  and  I  went  with  him  until  we  met  the 
coachman  coming  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Then 
I  took  the  car  and  came  home. 

I  am  not  hurt,  neither  is  the  pony.  I  am  going 
to  ride  him  when  I  get  a  curb-bit. 

I  expect  to  go  with  Mother  and  Daddy  to  see  Ben 
Greet  play  Shakespeare's  "Merchant  of  Venice." 

My  love  to  Nana,  and  tell  her  that  the  Christmas 
fixings  have  come.  Please  forward  this  letter  to  Jus. 
I  think  he  might  be  interested  in  it. 

Affectionately, 

Your  whole  grandson, 

Ben. 

[8] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

Life  in  Florida  in  winter  was  much  the  same  as  in 
Maine  in  smnmer.  Sailboats  were  tried  out  on  the 
St.  John's  River  and  the  outdoor  pleasures  were  kept 
up.  There  was  also  a  telegraph  line  run  from  Ben's 
room  to  that  of  his  friend,  Arthur  Perry,  two  blocks 
away.  Late  into  the  night  sometimes,  the  Morse  code 
could  be  heard  being  clicked  off  at  a  high  rate  of 
speed. 

Parts  of  several  summers  were  spent  at  Camp 
Megunticook,  established  by  Walter  S.  Cowing, 
known  to  the  boys  as  "Prof."  Mr.  Cowing  operated 
several  branch  camps  in  the  more  distant  part  of  the 
Maine  woods.  One  of  the  features  of  the  summer 
was  a  trip  to  Squa  Pan  Lake.  The  following  letter 
was  written  from  there. 

To  his  Mother 

Squa  Pan  Lake,  Maine, 
August  6,  1909. 

Dearest  Mother  :  I  got  back  from  the  Blackwater 
trip  yesterday  and  I  am  taking  it  easy  this  afternoon. 
I  guess  the  best  I  can  do  is  to  give  you  a  detailed 
account  of  what  has  happened  so  far. 

Friday  morning  we  went  to  Camden  as  arranged 
and  got  dinner  in  Spaulding's  cafe.  Prof,  said  I  had 
better  get  a  pair  of  long  pants  because  of  mosquitoes 
and  black  flies,  so  I  did.  '    / 

We  had  a  good  trip  on  the  boat  and  I  didn't  get 
seasick.  At  Bucksport  we  took  the  train  for  Bangor 
where  we  had  supper  and  spent  the  night  at  Adams 
House.  It  was  really  quite  a  nice  hotel,  but  the  meals 
were   awfully   slow.     Next   day  on   to   Bangor   and 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

Aroostook,  to  Ashland,  where  two  buckboards  met 
us,  and  took  us  a  thir teen-miles'  (Maine  miles)  drive  to 
Squa  Pan  Lake.  On  the  way  we  saw  a  fox,  at  which 
Tiny  shot  with  his  revolver. 

That  evening  Bill  Crowder,  Dick  Wallace  and  I 
paddled  a  little  distance  up  one  side  of  the  lake  and 
back  the  other.  We  heard  two  deer  snort.  Next  day 
we  went  to  the  beaver  ponds,  where  I  saw  my  first 
moose;  it  was  only  a  small  cow,  but  even  that  was 
interesting,  as  we  had  not  yet  had  any  views  of  the 
big  bulls.  We  tore  out  a  good  deal  of  the  dam,  and 
that  evening  Tiny  and  three  others  of  us  went  to  watch 
the  beavers  rebuild.  Just  before  coming  in  sight  of 
the  beaver  dam,  as  we  stole  noiselessly  along,  we  saw 
a  deer  get  up  from  where  it  was  feeding  in  front  of 
us.  It  bounded  away  till  nothing  of  it  could  be 
seen,  but  its  white  tail  disappearing  in  the  moonlight. 
Then  we  came  to  the  dam,  and  there  was  a  beaver 
swimming  around  the  pond.  We  watched  him  about 
fifteen  minutes  and  then  had  to  start  for  camp.  Next 
day  we  went  out  to  the  bear-traps  and  set  them,  also 
we  went  up  the  inlet.  Tuesday  morning  we  started 
on  the  Blackwater  trip.  The  first  night  we  camped 
down  in  some  hunting  cabins  by  the  Squa  Pan  stream 
dam,  after  having  gone  down  Squa  Pan  stream, 
exploring  about  two  miles. 

Wednesday  we  paddled  to  Blackwater,  and  then 
waded  and  fished  all  the  way  up  this  stream,  where 
we  made  a  big  lean-to  for  all  ten  of  us.  In  the  two 
days  of  this  trip  we  caught  104  trout,  all  big  enough 
to  eat,  and  were  eaten  most  heartily. 

Next  day,  that  is  yesterday,  we  came  to  Squa  Pan 

[10] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

Lake  over  a  slightly  different  course  than  we  had 
come,  going  more  through  the  woods,  and  not  wading. 
At  about  5  p.  M.,  we  all  took  a  swim  in  Squa  Pan 
Lake,  then  came  home. 

This  morning  Mr.  Walker,  Dick  Wallace,  Ed  Levis 
and  I  went  up  the  inlet  and  saw  a  beauty  ten-point 
buck,  a  cow  moose  and  another  deer.  That  is  all  up 
to  now,  but  I  have  lots  to  say.  For  instance,  we 
have  had  nothing  but  great  weather,  so  far — tap 
wood!!  Up  to  date,  we  have,  as  a  party,  seen  eight 
moose  and  twenty-three  deer.  I,  myself,  have  seen 
four  moose  and  six  deer. 

So  far  my  living  expenses  have  been  $1.25  for  a 
pair  of  khaki  trousers  and  two  pairs  of  woolen  socks, 
which  are  a  necessary  article  when  your  feet  are  wet 
all  the  time,  as  they  are  here.  I  am  very  sorry,  but 
I  shall  have  to  get  a  pair  of  heavy  moccasins  in 
Ashland.  As  my  high  shoes  are  a  fraction  small  for 
plain  stockings  I  can't  get  them  over  woolen  ones. 
I  can  get  in  Ashland  a  good  pair  of  moose-hide  moc- 
casins for  $2.00,  which  would  cost  $4.00  in  Phila- 
delphia, as  they  make  a  specialty  of  things  for  hunt- 
ing people,  deer,  I  mean. 

Please  send  me  $2.00  of  mine  and  my  two  Sunday 
quarters,  as  I  want  to  get  a  hunting-knife  and  some 
films. 

I  would  have  answered  long  ago,  only  that  we  had 

to   leave   almost   immediately   after   I   received   your 

loving  letter.    If  I  think  of  anything  more  before  this 

letter  leaves,  I'll  put  it  in.     I'll  write  again   soon, 

anyway.  *  «.      .  i 

Anectionately, 

Benino. 

[11] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

In  the  autumn  of  1909  Ben  began  his  boarding- 
school  life  by  entering  the  Chestnut  Hill  Academy, 
near  Philadelphia,  where  he  remained  until  1913.  It 
was  during  these  years  that  he  became  a  good  cor- 
respondent, averaging  never  less  than  three  letters  a 
week  to  his  mother.  His  Sundays  and  short  holidays 
were  spent  with  his  grandparents  in  Germantown, 
but  he  never  failed  to  go  to  Florida  for  Christmas 
and  spring  vacations.  One  year  a  visit  to  Washing- 
ton was  suggested  at  Easter,  instead  of  the  long  trip 
to  Florida,  for  a  short  vacation.  After  careful  con- 
sideration he  decided  in  favor  of  Florida  and  wrote: 
"I  am  still  glad  I  am  going  South  and  expect  to  stay 
so.  All  the  sights  in  Washington,  and  some  other 
places,  seem  weak  when  opposed  to  the  family."  And 
in  his  last  letter  before  the  vacation,  he  wrote:  "Two 
days,  and  again  two  days,  and  we  shall  see  each 
other." 

The  four  years  at  school  were  very  happy  ones. 
Ben  took  a  large  part  in  the  musical  clubs  and  in  the 
school  publications.  A  few  of  his  letters  written  dur- 
ing these  years  follow. 

To  Mr.  J.  C.  Cha^e 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
October  8,  1909. 

Deae  Daddy:  Thanks  ever  so  much  for  the  letter 
which  I  received  a  few  days  ago.  This  is  evening 
study  period,  but  as  I  have  finished  all  Monday's 
lessons,  I  am  making  the  best  of  a  good  chance  to 
write  to  you. 

[12] 


"A 


pq 


'  »  '  '        n  , 
■>  '  J  1  ■> 


■>  »  •> 
111 


•  ••• 

•  •  *  • 


•  ••  • 
•  ••• 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  SchooUdays 

Tomorrow  (Saturday)  before  going  home  I  am 
going  to  see  the  Quaker  City  Motor  Club  race  in 
Fairmount  Park.  A  good  many  fellows  are  going 
with  Mr.  Fall,  one  of  the  teachers,  and  I  shall  be 
with  him  until  the  race  is  over,  when  I  shall  return 
to  Manheim  Street  in  time  for  supper. 

I  expect  about  everybody  else  is  back  in  Jackson- 
ville by  this  time.  I  am  enclosing  a  schedule  of  my 
daily  occupations.  The  pool  here  is  certainly  a  peach. 
It  is^'  all  marble  tiling  and  warmed  to  the  temperature 
of  the  air.  You  must  certainly  have  a  swim  there 
some  time.  There  are  lockers,  three  in  a  room.  I 
have  No.  3,  in  which  I  keep  my  rough  clothes. 

There  are  two  boys  who  come  to  school  here  every 
day  that  have  Hupmobiles;  they  are  great  little 
machines,  20  h.  p.,  and  smaller  than  a  baby  Buick. 
I  hope  to  get  a  ride  in  one  of  them  soon,  possibly 
run  it,  but  I  doubt  that.  They  are  guaranteed  to 
fifty  miles  an  hour,  but  make  five  or  ten  more.  They 
have  come  into  great  favor  in  Philadelphia,  where 
the  greatest  amount  are  sold.  I  think  that  they  are 
manufactured  in  Germany.  They  are  sold  for  $750 
with  a  Bosch  magneto  and  full  equipment. 

In  this  evening  period  is  when  most  of  the  tacks 
are  applied  to  the  seats  (pants?),  but  I  have  not 
received  any  donations  of  the  kind  as  yet. 

Monsieur  Blanchet,  the  French  teacher,  is  in  charge 
tonight.  Some  few  minutes  ago  we  had  quite  a 
conversation  (in  French)  about  whether  study  can 
be  pursued  best  with  the  feet  resting  upon  the  seat 
in  front,  or  not;  verdict:  not.  This  acquainted  the 
boys  that  I  speak  French,  and  I  shouldn't  be  sur- 

[13] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

prised  to  receive  "Frenchy"  for  a  name,  as  I  went 
by  that  at  camp  a  good  deal.  There  is  going  to  be 
a  choosing  of  light  and  dark  blues  (sides),  so  I 
guess  I'd  better  say  good-bye. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — I  hope  this  reaches  you  in  the  evening,  so 
that  you  will  have  time  to  read  it. 

To  Ms  Mother 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
March  5,  1910. 

Dearest  Mother:  Dr.  Patterson  decided  that  I 
had  better  drop  physical  geography  and  take  3d 
algebra  instead.  As  for  French,  I  am  to  decide  with 
Mr.  Blanchet.  This  morning  I  shall  do  some  work 
with  Mr.  Craig  and  then  probably  with  Mr.  Blanchet. 

I  guess  you  have  been  reading  an  exaggerated 
report  of  the  strike  in  the  Times,  but  last  night,  any- 
where from  30,000  to  75,000  men  went  out  on  a 
sympathetic  strike.  A  few  cars  have  been  blown  up 
by  bombs,  many  by  brickbats. 

I  received  your  jessamined  letter  yesterday.  I  am 
glad  you  liked  the  story.  I  wrote  it  while  in  bed  with 
tonsilitis,  over  a  month  ago,  but  the  idea  has  been 
in  my  head  over  a  year.  I  didn't  know  how  to  call 
it,  so  the  editors  did.  I  could  have  supplied  a  better 
name  than  that,  for  instance:  "A  Watery  Adventure," 
but  I  didn't  think  of  that  until  after  it  was  pub- 
lished. I  put  a  Wissahickon  on  the  library  table  last 
Sunday,  and  Gramps  read  it.    When  he  came  to  this 

[14] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

story  he  also  read  it  almost  to  the  end,  then  he  saw, 
"B.  Lee,"  looked  up,  and  said,  just  what  I  was  ex- 
pecting: "Hello,  Ben,  did  you  write  this?" 

I  hope  Sister  is  gripping  her  bicycle  with  a  gripless 
hand. 

With  stacks  of  love, 

Ben. 

Published  in  "Wissahichon,"  February,  1910 

A    TRUE    STORY 

The  fact  that  I  was  an  orphan  and  going  through 
school  practically  by  charity,  powerfully  affected  my 
already  melancholy  nature. 

My  chief  diversion  from  the  ordinary  school  routine 
was  swimming,  and,  at  this,  I  considered  myself  quite 
good,  although  there  were  some  that  did  not  share 
my  views.  When  I  was  refused  a  position  on  the 
school  team,  the  seeming  disgrace  was  to  me  so  in- 
tensely magnified  that  I  became  despondent  and 
resolved  to  commit  suicide. 

After  having  decided  on  drowning  as  the  surest 
way,  I  procured  a  good  rope  and,  on  pretense  of 
having  something  to  get  from  my  locker,  I  entered 
the  pool  building.  The  pool  was  twenty  feet  deep 
at  one  end,  sloping  slowly  to  the  other,  one  hundred 
away.  It  was  there  that  the  swimming  contests 
were  to  be  held  the  next  day,  and  I  thought,  with 
almost  fiendish  delight,  of  my  body's  being  found 
by  those  who  had  wronged  me. 

I  now  fastened  one  end  of  the  rope  securely  to  my 
body  and,  taking  a  long  breath,  dived  for  the  outlet 

[16] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

pipe  on  the  bottom.  An  instant  only  I  wavered,  for, 
thinking  of  the  cruel  and  unjust  world  above,  I 
quickly  made  fast  the  remaining  rope  to  the  pipe. 
In  the  eternal  minute  that  followed,  there  flashed 
through  my  mind  year  on  year  of  forgotten  time  and 
then,  with  a  choking  gasp,  all  was  a  blank. 

Slowly,  slowly,  slowly — it  seemed  hours  afterwards 
— I  drifted  back  to  semi-consciousness  and  began  to 
think.  Was  this  another  world,  or  had  I  been  torn 
from  the  clutches  of  death  against  my  will?  Soon  I 
stirred  and  felt  water  all  about  me!  It  could  not  be; 
this  must  be  a  dead  man's  idle  dream,  and  yet  I 
breathed,  felt,  too,  some  tight-wound  band  about  my 
body — it  was  the  rope. 

I  opened  my  eyes  and  saw  that  I  was  in  the  same 
position  as  before — should  I  call  it  Death?  I  undid 
the  rope,  and  did  not  sink  or  rise,  but  maintained  a 
perfect  balance,  with  the  water  about  me.  I  now 
explain  this  by  the  fact  that  my  lungs  were  full  of 
water  which  I  seemed  to  be  breathing  instead  of  air, 
occasioning  a  great  gain  of  weight,  so  that  I  could, 
by  a  slight  motion,  go  up  and  down. 

I  tried  swimming  ahead  and  started  towards  the 
opposite  end  of  the  pool.  There  I  almost  injured 
myself,  as  it  took  me  but  half  the  usual  time  to  swim 
the  length,  and  I  arrived  at  the  end  unexpectedly  soon. 

Then  I  sank  to  the  bottom  and  meditated.  At 
present,  with  this  wonderful  new  phase  of  life  before 
me,  I  had  not  the  slightest  inclination  to  die.  I  also 
noticed  that  my  pores  seemed  unusually  large  and 
pulsated.  Here,  I  thought,  and  I  was  right,  is  the 
secret:  were  it  not  for  my  pores'  breathing,  my  lungs 

[16] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

could  never  extract  from  water  the  oxygen  necessary 
to  life. 

Soon  a  scheme  struck  me  by  which  I  might  make 
everlasting  fame.  With  my  ability  to  stay  under 
water  and  swim  at  such  a  remarkable  speed,  I  should 
enter  the  contest  on  the  morrow!  After  making  this 
resolve  I  rose  to  the  surface  and  started  to  climb  out 
of  the  pool,  but  in  less  than  a  minute  I  fainted  and 
fell  back  in  the  water.  When  I  gathered  my  senses 
I  was  breathing  hard,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  I 
realized  that  air  must  be  as  poisonous  to  me  now  as 
water  had  been. 

So  I  was(  cut  off  from  the  upper  world  and  doomed 
to  stay  in  the  pool  or  die!  Still  I  decided  that  I 
would  try  to  win  the  race  next  day,  then  make  a 
desperate  attempt  to  recover  life  in  its  true  state, 
which  seemed  to  me  now  far  more  alluring  than 
being  confined  to  the  water  forever. 

All  that  night  I  spent  in  a  doze,  keeping  my  posi- 
tion by  an  effortless  waving  of  my  hands.  The  next 
morning  I  was  awakened  by  a  faint  light  from  one 
of  the  upper  windows.  I  quickly  sank  to  a  deeper 
and  darker  spot  where  I  could  not  possibly  be  seen, 
and  there  I  stayed  until  faint  reverberated  footfalls 
hurrying  about  made  it  known  that  the  match  was 
about  to  begin. 

Rising  a  few  feet,  I  caught  sight  of  five  figures 
leaning  over  the  edge  preparatory  to  the  start;  five, 
where  there  should  be  six!  Evidently  one  was  miss- 
ing. I  rose  again  and  saw  that  our  best  swimmer  was 
not  there.  Quickly  I  made  my  resolve  and,  darting 
to  the  surface,  I  took  the  vacant  place  among  the 

[17] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

racers.  At  this  instant  the  word  "go"  rang  faintly 
in  my  ears.  I  was  almost  choking,  but  plunged  in 
and,  with  two  quick  breaths,  I  was  well  again. 

With  all  the  speed  that  I  now  possessed  I  rushed 
to  the  far  end  of  the  pool  and  back;  hardly  stopping. 
I  scrambled  out  upon  the  marble  tiling,  and  there 
went  through  the  horrors  that  accompanied  my  former 
change,  but  this  time  in  my  mind  was  the  day  and 
night  spent  under  water.  Then,  as  before,  a  sickening 
blackness  overcame  me  and  I  was  as  one  dying. 

When  I  came  to  I  was  in  the  school  hospital  with 
doctors  and  a  nurse  working  over  me.  I  asked  about 
the  race  and,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  learned  that 
I  had  been  counted  as  dead,  but  victor  in  the  contest. 

B.  Lee. 

To  his  Mother 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
January    16,    1911. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  Friday,  I  got  yester- 
day evening  mit  joy.  We  went  to  church  yesterday 
morning  in  the  carriage,  in  the  rain,  but  it  cleared  off 
pretty  well  by  afternoon.  I  stayed  for  supper  and 
didn't  get  up  here  until  eight  o'clock. 

It  was  20"  before  breakfast,  so  I  don't  know  how 
cold  it  was  last  night.  But  it  is  clear,  and  two  or 
three  days  like  this  will  make  ye  grande  skatynge. 

The  Oregon  apples  are  great.  I  brought  a  few 
back  with  me. 

Gramps'  birthday  was  a  great  success.  He  received 
a  houseful  of  flowers,  and  a  telegram  from  John 
Wanamaker  in  New  York,  and  letters  from  Governor 

[  18  ] 


Ancestry y  Childhood  and  School-days 

Stuart,  ex-Mayor  Weaver,  and  many  of  his  friends. 
I  hope  you  are  all  well. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
February  8,   1»11. 

Dearest  Mother:  Here  I  am  in  my  two  rooms 
and  a  bath  suite  for  three  weeks,  more  or  less. 

I  am  still  in  bed  this  morning,  as  I  have  not  been 
getting  up  until  11.30  or  so,  as  dozing  is  a  fine  way 
to  lose  time. 

I  will  give  you  an  idea  of  what  has  happened  since 
Saturday  when  I  last  wrote,  I  think. 

Saturday  morning  I  got  down  here,  read  up  to 
date  in  Literary  Digest,  and  played  with  Nib.  I  took 
a  walk  with  Nib  in  the  afternoon,  also.  I  began  to 
feel  a  little  soreness  in  my  throat  and  under  my  right 
ear,  and  Sunday  morning  Dr.  Smith  came  down. 
Gramps  did  not  go  to  church  as  he  wanted  to  see  the 
doctor. 

Dr.  Smith  saidj  right  away  that  it  was  mumps.  He 
didn't  prescribe  anything  but  lamb's  wool  for  the 
mumped-up  places.  I  slept  in  the  same  room  with 
Jus  Saturday  night,  but  haven't  seen  him  since,  as 
before  Sunday  dinner  I  was  quarantined.  The  only 
people  who  are  allowed  in  my  room  are  Gramps  and 
Miss  Taylor. 

Yesterday  my  other  side  began  mumping  a  little, 
and  now  it  has  caught  up  to  the  first  side. 

I  have  been  amusing  myself  considerably  with  my 

[19] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

mandolin;  I  find  that  I  can  pick  out  a  good  many 
tunes.  I  know  quite  a  few  hymns  by  heart  from 
singing  them,  and  even  more  tunes  when  I  get  started 
on  them. 

Yesterday  I  didn't  get  up  until  11.30,  then  I  made 
out  and  revised  a  list  of  things  I  needed  from  school. 
Buchanan  went  up  for  them  and  Miss  Bray  got 
them.  I  put  just  where  everything  was,  so  I  guess 
she  didn't  have  much  trouble.  She  got  everything 
but  one,  and  that  was  mail.  I  am  quite  sure  there 
is  a  letter  or  letters  from  you  there.  I  shall  get  some 
one  to  'phone  up  to  have  them  readdressed. 

The  English  work  for  the  next  week  is  reading! 
The  book  that  I  was  to  be  reading  for  a  while, 
"Antiquary,"  I  finished  yesterday.  I  know  the  books 
to  be  read,  and  can  read  a  lot  of  extras,  too,  of  Scott 
or  Dickens  or  George  Eliot,  etc.,  and  poetry  ("Idyls 
of  the  King"  and  others).  The  French  I  can  carry 
on,  I  think,  so  as  to  come  out  fairly  well.  The  same 
with  history  and  algebra.  About  the  best  I  can  do 
in  geometry  will  be  reviewing.  I  may  be  able  to  do 
some  advanced  work,  too. 

The  extent  of  annoyance  that  I  have  had  so  far 
consists  of  a  feeling  like  cramps,  now  and  then,  in  the 
mumped  places,  but  that  is  only  temporary,  and  I 
hope  will  stay  so. 

Yesterday  it  snowed  continuously  until  five  o'clock. 
It  was  very  powdery  and  dry.  It  blew  about  and 
drifted  a  good  deal.  Last  night  it  rained  a  little  and 
then  froze.  There  is  not  enough  snow  for  sleighing, 
except  for  Josephine  Dodge's  pony  sleigh,  which 
went  by  last  night. 

[20] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

I  hope  there  is  "nothing  like  this  in  the  family," 
and  all  are  well  again  and  flourishing. 

Stacks  of  love  and  hugs  from 

.  Bumpy  Ben. 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
February  10,  1911. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  day  before  yesterday's 
letter  received  on  time  for  breakfast  this  morning* 
Don't  worry  about  my  not  wanting  to  read  any  letter 
you  could  write,  whatever  be  the  subject. 

Yesterday  it  snowed  from  five  to  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening,   and  so   Gramps  was  able  to  sleigh  in 
today.     That  much  snow  alone  would  not  amount  to 
much,  but  it  had  a  good  ice  foundation. 
I  ara  awfully  sorry  to  hear  of: 

All  the  colds  in  Jacksonville,  but  I  hope 
All  the  spring  weather  will  knock 
All  the  colds  in  the  head,  and 
All  over  creation. 
I  am  feeling  more  comfortable,  if  possible,  as  my 
left  side  has  stopped  hurting  a  good  deal.     My  right 
never  did  bother  me. 

I  have  been  playing  kboo  and  flinch  and  euchre 

with  Gramps,  and  we  expect  to  have  some  sniff,  too. 

I  am  disappointed  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  go 

to  Lawrenceville  on  the  18th,  as  that  will  only  be  two 

weeks  from  when  mumps  started. 

As  usual  I  have  just  gotten  up;  it  is  eleven  o'clock 
and  postie  coming  soon.  Don't  worry  about  me  at 
all.    I  am  all  right  and  in  good  hands,  you  know  that. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love, 

Ben. 

[21] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

P.S. — I  think  those  quick  aeroplane  trips  you 
speak  of  will  more  likely  be  ten  years  hence  than  a 
hundred.^ 

Hopefully  awaiting  them,  I  remain, 

B.  Lee. 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
November  8,  1912. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  Monday  received  on 
time  and  another  one  this  morning.  The  birthday 
goods  are  fine,  about  two-thirds  gone  already,  but 
much  appreciated  by  self  and  many  others.  Have 
not  been  indisposed  at  all  by  an  overdose  of  goodies. 

I  am  glad  you  had  such  a  Wee  trip  to  Crescent 
City  and  that  grove.     Are  the  tangerines  ripe  yet? 

Your  birthday  telegram  reached  me  through  Ger- 
mantown  at  a  very  proper  time,  as  it  was  'phoned 
up  just  when  several  cronies  and  I  were  celebrating 
with  part  of  the  boxes'  contents.  Nana  mailed  the 
written  telegram,  which  I  received  next  day. 

Yesterday  was  a  "pourer"  from  morning  till  eve- 
ning. Gym  was  in  order  for  the  afternoon,  but  today 
is  cool  and  sparkling,  perfect  November  weather. 

Last  Sunday  Gramps  was  telling  me  how  danger- 
ous he  thought  football,  and  how  glad  he  was  that 
I  didn't  play.  A  little  later  I  told  him  I  was  out 
for  the  soccer  team.  He  thought  that  meant  the 
football  team  and  before  I  had  time  to  tell  him  the 
difference,  he  apologized  very  profusely  for  having 
berated  football  so  much!  Of  course  he  was  glad  to 
hear  that  I  wasn't  playing  football. 

^  A  prophecy  which  has  been  fully  confirmed. 

[22] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

I  was  asked  to  join  the  Chess  Club  here  last  night, 
so  I  did,  having  no  objections.  Mack  Angas  was 
admitted  at  the  same  time. 

I  hope  every  one   (including  cow)   is  very  well. 
Stacks  and  oodles  of  love, 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
February  22,   1913. 

Deaeest  Mother:  Your  last  received  yesterday. 
I  didn't  really  expect  that  Daddy  would  want  to 
give  us  an  ad.,  but  I  had  to  ask  to  get  Mack  to  do 
so.  Mr.  Angas  is  going  to  put  in  a  page  of  Hobe 
Sound  real  estate  stuff. 

The  concert  went  off  beautifully  last  night,  with- 
out a  hitch.  The  quartette,  of  which  I  was  one,  as 
you  know,  made  quite  a  hit,  as  did  also  Mr.  Bensinger, 
who  is  one  of  the  new  teachers  this  year.  The  sex- 
tette from  "Lucia"  was  very  good,  too.  I  shall  hear 
that  sung  this  afternoon  by  Scott,  Tetrazzini,  Egener, 
Mr.  Georgini,  Mascal,  and  some  one  else. 

I  passed  up  everything  for  this  month  (or  rather, 
period),  getting  a  medium  C  in  French,  a  high  B 
in  history,  and  a  medium  A  in  German.  I  also  got 
1st  in  German  class. 

I  expect  that  now  that  the  concert  is  over,  work 
will  begin  on  the  play  at  once;  it  will  be  given  some 
time  after  Easter  vacation. 

Last  night  was  rather  wet  and  it  was  raining  when 
the  concert  was  over,  but  the  place  was  packed,  so 
that  most  of  the  boys  had  to  stand  up.     It  was  one 

[23] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

of  the  most   successful   concerts,   according  to   most 
people. 

The  quartette  wore  large  artificial  sun-flowers, 
which  attracted  much  attention. 

"Bob"  Barrett  is  getting  seats  for  "Barber  of 
Seville"  this  morning.  Mack,  he  and  I  are  going 
next  Tuesday,  after  dinner  in  Germantown. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Philadelphia, 
April  14,  1913. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  Saturday  received 
with  greatest  pleasure  this  morning.  I  certainly  am 
glad  your  trip  was  a  success  in  spite  of  the  very  rainy 
day.  You  have  "nothing  on  us,"  as  it  has  rained  if 
not  all  of  every  day  since  Thursday. 

Nana,  Gramps  and  I  drove  in  to  "Disraeli"  Sat- 
urday matinee,  and  were  very  much  enthused  by  it. 
The  play  was  fine,  the  acting  splendid. 

Went  to  church  with  Nana  and  Gramps  yesterday 
morning.  Aunt  Lizzie  and  Uncle  Joe  May  were 
out  to  dinner;  after  they  left,  Nana  and  Gramps 
drove  up  with  me. 

Only  one  fellow  out  of  ten  passed  the  German 
condition  make-up  exam,  that  I  took  Friday,  and 
he  did  it  by  liberal  cribbing,  so  I  don't  feel  so  badly 
about  not  passing  it. 

Mrs.  Harper  gave  us  the  now  usual  brick  of  ice- 
cream with  cakes  last  night,  which  same,  let  us  hope, 
she  continues. 

[24] 


Ancestry,  Childhood  and  School-days 

Gramps  and  other  people  seem  to  have  a  strong 
feeling  that  I  should  take  Wharton  School  instead 
of  Arts  and  Science,  in  view  of  my  probable  future 
business  occupation.  There  seems  to  be  a  great  deal 
of  reason  in  the  arguments  advanced  and,  although 
I  don't  like  to  change  my  mind  unless  for  the  better, 
I  think  this  would  be  a  justifiable  case.  There  is  no 
doubt  about  it  that  Wharton  School  would  be  more 
advantageous  from  a  business  standpoint,  and  I 
guess  that  is  the  one  to  consider.  The  entrance  re- 
quirements are  practically  the  same. 

You  and  Gramps  have  talked  of  Trust  Companies 
and  Brokers'  offices.  Well,  they  are  about  the  last 
things  I  should  choose  as  vocations  as  long  as  there 
are  other  jobs  open,  for  one  has  to  take  a  matter  of 
health  into  consideration,  and  I  know  I  should  never 
get  along  well  shut  up  morning  and  afternoon  six 
days  a  week. 

The  only  way  to  know  whether  or  not  College  will 
be  appreciated  is  to  try  working.  Lots  of  fellows  do 
work  all  summer  during  the  school  or  college  vaca- 
tions, so  there  is  no  reason  I  should  not  do  the 
same. 

It  is  not  worth  while  going  into  the  matter  too 
deeply  until  I  get  an  expression  of  your  views  on  it. 
If  this  meets  with  your  and  Daddy's  approval,  I 
am  absolutely  ready  to  back  it  up  with  a  good 
three  months'  work  at  any  job  that  I  can  learn.  My 
summer  certainly  would  not  be  wasted  under  any 
condition. 

Finally,  if  this  plan  does  not  appeal  to  you  as 
practical,  reasonable  and  advantageous,  I  shall  give 

[25] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

it   up    immediately,   but   it    is   worth   giving    serious 
consideration. 

I  hope  this  will  be  easier  to  read  than  it  was  to 
write;  however,  take  your  time  about  answering  it. 
Stacks  and  oodles  of  love. 

Affectionately, 
I  Ben. 

Ben  graduated  from  Chestnut  Hill  Academy  in 
June,  1913,  and  entered  the  Wharton  School,  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  autumn. 

That  summer  was  one  of  the  happiest  and  most 
active.  It  was  also  the  last  summer  of  his  grand- 
father's life.  Automobiles  replaced  horses,  and  long 
trips  were  made  about  New  England.  In  August 
Ben  spent  two  weeks  with  friends  in  the  White 
Mountains  and  climbed  a  number  of  the  Presidential 
Range. 


X 


[26] 


At  the  University,  1913-1917 


"RECORD— 1917" 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d  $  K  2 

"Ben" 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown,  Pa. 

Wharton 
Chestnut  Hill  Academy.  Friars'  Senior  Society;  Second  Soccer  Team;  Associate 
Editor  Pennsylvanian  (1)  (2),  Editor  (3)  (4);  Editor  Punch  Bowl  (3)  (4); 
Managing  Editor  1917  Class  Record  (4);  Orchestra  Committee  (1)  (2)  (3), 
chairman  (4) ;  Pipe  Committee  (1) ;  Picture  Committee  (2) ;  Band  Committee 
(3)  (4);  Junior  Week  Committee;  Wharton  Executive  Committee  (4);  Chair- 
man Wharton  Visiting  Committee  (4) ;  C.  A.  Campaign  Committee  (4) ;  Michigan 
Trip  Comrolttee  (4) ;  Cremation  Committee  (2) ;  Class  Day  Speaker  (4) ;  Chair- 
man Ivy  Ball  Publicity  Committee  (4);  Class  Historian  (4);  Rifle  Club  (1)  (2); 
Seminole  Club  (1)  (2);  Chestnut  Hill  Academy  Club  (1),  Treasurer  (2),  Sec- 
retary (3);  Cercle  Francais  Play  Cast  (1),  Treasvu-er  (2),  Vice-President  (3), 
President   (4) ;   Chairman  Class  Day  Committee. 

[From  The  Record,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1917] 


[28] 


University  OF  Pennsylvak^ia.  191T 


>    >  }\  i  i  }  J 


'      J  J  >  J  J  ,      '  J '  J    J  J     .   J  J  ^  J 


«  »    *   .*    t 


•  •   « t  t   • 


II 

At  the  University,  1913-1917 

It  seemed  strange  to  some  of  Ben's  friends  that 
he  should  have  selected  the  Wharton  School  as  his 
undergraduate  department  in  preference  to  the  Col- 
lege, as  the  Arts  and  Science  Department  is  known. 
The  latter  was  not  only  more  appealing  to  his  natural 
inclinations,  but  also  more  full  of  opportunities  for 
the  expression  of  his  already  promising  and  ever- 
developing  hterary  ability.  There  is  no  doubt,  how- 
ever, in  the  minds  of  those  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated during  his  years  at  the  University,  that  his 
greatest  enthusiasms  were  aroused  by  his  work  in  the 
fraternity  and  for  The  Pennsylvardan,  the  Uni- 
versity daily  newspaper. 

Ben  was  initiated  into  Alpha  Chapter  of  Phi 
Kappa  Sigma  Fraternity  on  December  16,  1913. 
His  great-uncle,  Alfred  Lee,  2d,  his  uncle,  Charles 
T.  Lee,  his  cousin,  William  W.  Justice,  Jr.,  and  his 
brother,  William  Justice  Lee,  were  members  of  the 
same  Chapter.  With  him  were  initiated  Edward 
H.  Morris  ("Teddy"),  Henry  R.  Wharton,  Jr. 
("Harry"  or  "The  Little  Cherub"),  and  Emile  C. 
Geyelin,  known  as  "Millie,"  who  particularly  de- 
lighted in  calling  Ben  "The  Little  Sage,"  a  name 
for  which  he  was  probably  responsible.  In  April, 
1914,  Ben  was  elected  to  a  minor  office,^  that  of  Theta, 
and   from   that   time   imtil   his   death,   he   was    con- 

[29] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

tinually  serving  the  fraternity,  either  his  own  Chapter, 
the  Grand  Chapter,  or  the  national  organization,  in 
an  official  capacity.  In  October,  1914,  he  was  elected 
Chapter  Upsilon  and  in  December,  1915,  Chapter 
Tau,  a  position  which  required  a  large  amount  of 
hard  work.  He  resigned  this  office  in  April,  1917, 
when  he  left  the  University  to  begin  the  private 
training  which  he  felt  to  be  a  necessary  preliminary 
step  to  his  contemplated  service  with  the  air  forces 
of  either  the  Army  or  Navy.  One  of  Ben's  par- 
ticular interests  was  inter  fraternity  relations.  In  the 
spring  of  1915,  he  was  very  active  in  the  redrafting 
of  the  Interfraternity  Agreement,  which  regulates  the 
rushing  of  freshmen  by  the  various  fraternities.  He 
was  also  the  Chapter's  representative  on  the  Inter- 
fraternity Council  during  his  Senior  year. 

During  Ben's  undergraduate  years  three  national 
conventions  of  the  fraternity  were  held.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1916,  at  a  convention  held  in  Chicago,  Ben  was 
elected  Grand  Upsilon,  although  he  himself  was  not 
present.  In  April,  1917,  he  was  granted  leave  of 
absence  and  his  department  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  an  assistant. 

His  final  decision  not  to  attend  the  Convention  at 
San  Francisco  which  met  in  August,  1915,  is  an- 
nounced in  a  letter  written  in  May  of  that  year.  In 
January,  1914,  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia  from 
riorida  at  the  close  of  the  Christmas  holidays,  Ben 
attended  the  Convention  at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
The  following  letter,  which  gives  an  account  of  the 
trip,  was  written  less  than  a  month  after  becoming  a 
member  of  the  fraternity.  ' 

[30] 


At  the  University 
To  his  Mother 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
January  6,   1914. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  letter  was  waiting  for  me 
here  when  I  got  back  at  ten  o'clock  tonight.  Glad 
to  hear  the  good  news  from  Jacksonville.  The  Nash- 
ville trip  was  indeed  a  success,  more  so  than  I  could 
have  anticipated. 

I  must  say  first,  however,  that  the  Easter  trip  to 
Jax  will  have  to  be  called  off,  of  which  I  am  heartily 
sorry,  as  it  has  become  a  familiar  idea  and  one  on 
which  I  was  counting.  To  start  the  new  year  right, 
some  of  the  faculty,  including  the  deans,  ruled  that 
this  year's  vacation  should  be  limited  to  three  days!!! 

A  mighty  nice  fellow  from  Georgia  Tech  got  on 
the  Dixie  Flyer  at  Atlanta  and  we  soon  discovered 
our  mutual  destination.  Thursday  evening,  as  per 
program,  we  had  a  smoker,  and  "cake  walk"  by  three 
colored  couples.  Very  entertaining  and  new  to  about 
every  one.     Certainly  was  to  me. 

Friday  morning,  a  ten-mile  ride  to  the  "Hermit- 
age," General  Jackson's  old  home.  The  Ladies'  Her- 
mitage Association  did  the  honors  of  the  place,  after- 
wards feeding  us  on  welcome  coffee  and  crackers.  It 
was  rather  raw  and  rainy,  but  the  autos  had  tops, 
and  we  coats. 

The  dance  came  off  in  the  afternoon  and  was  a 
great  success.  Business  and  initiation  occupied  the 
evening  and  was  followed  by  a  "Dutch"  supper. 
Saturday  was  "business"  all  day  practically.  Very 
interesting.  The  next  convention  will  be  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  California,  Berkeley  or  San  Francisco,  Cal., 

[31] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

probably  August,  1915.  It  will  coincide  with  the 
Exposition  in  full  blast.  Of  course  we  Freshmen 
who  were  sent  this  time  will  not  be  sent.  We  were 
extraordinarily  lucky  to  be  sent  to  this  one. 

The  big  banquet,  toasts,  speeches,  lasted  until  12.30 
A.  M.  Sunday.  We  trickled  into  the  sleeper  and  most 
of  us  were  well  on  the  way  to  bed  by  3.10  a.  m.,  when 
the  train  pulled  out. 

We  had  to  forget  the  day  temporarily  and  while 
away  the  tedious  hours  at  bridge  yesterday,  under 
the  auspices,  if  not  the  benediction,  of  Brother 
Dieffenbach,  "Bishop  of  Hartford."  In  such  good 
company  we  felt  no  qualms. 

From  Cincinnati  on  the  snow  was  in  evidence. 
This  morning  there  seemed  to  be  three  inches  in  the 
country.  We  rolled  in  to  West  Philadelphia  at  8.30 
and  beat  it  straight  for  the  house  (fraternity).  The 
fellows  on  hand  hung  around  during  our  breakfast, 
while  we  expiated  on  the  "Convention." 

Vaughan,  Vaughan,  Sr.,  and  Hartley  Merrick  were 
there  (at  the  Convention).  Dick  Philler  and  G. 
Bower,  Hazeltine  Smith,  Dayton  Voorhees  and  Dave 
Williams  completed  the  Philadelphia  delegation. 
There  were  two  others  also  I  think. 

Work  started  as  usual  today,  also  Pennsylvanian 
work,  for  which  reason  I  didn't  get  out  here  to 
dinner.  As  it  is  now  about  12  p.  m.,  I  will  stop  and 
put  this  at  the  front  door  as  a  precautionary  measure. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love, 

Ben. 

P.S. — Awfully  sorry  about  Easter.  (Can't  be 
helped   anyway.) 

[32] 


At  the  University 

Ben's  "heeler"  days  on  The  Pennsylvanian  began 
with  the  opening  day  of  the  University  in  his  Fresh- 
man year,  September  26,  1913.  He  sm^vived  all  the 
cuts  made  during  the  strenuous  competition  which 
lasted  throughout  fall  and  winter,  and  in  April  was 
elected  an  Associate  Editor.  One  year  later,  in  April, 
1915,  Ben  experienced  one  of  the  keenest  disappoint- 
ments of  his  college  days.  He  was  a  candidate  and 
nominee  for  the  position  of  Managing  Editor,  an 
election  which  would  have  given  him  an  excellent 
chance  of  being  Editor-in-Chief  during  his  Senior 
year.  He  was  defeated  in  the  election,  and  although 
made  an  editor  at  the  same  meeting  of  the  Board,  he 
knew  that  one  of  his  undergraduate  ambitions  would 
not  be  realized.  The  "low  of  his  barometer"  was  in 
proportion  to  the  elation  of  the  letter  written  just 
after  his  first  election  in  1914. 

3539   Locust   Street,   Philadelphia, 
April  27,  1914. 

Dearest  Mother:  I  was  elected  tonight  Associate 
Editor  of  Pennsylvanian,  and  so  I  am  in  a  tem- 
porary golden  cloud.  I  knew  of  my  nomination  last 
Monday  night  but  thought  it  best  to  keep  it  dark, 
as  the  election  did  not  necessarily  follow.  Only  one 
other  freshman  was  elected,  Raymond  D.  Stevens,  a 
"Psi  U."  Others  will  probably  be  elected  before  the 
end  of  the  year. 

Yours  of  Wednesday  received  with  pleasure  Fri- 
day. Glad  to  hear  of  continued  good  weather  during 
the  past  few  days. 

The  great  annual  Relays  came  off   Saturday  and 

[33] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

were  certainly  thrilling,  especially  the  last  race,  barely 
won  by  Oxford.  A  cold  drizzle  which  occasionally 
broke  into  a  rain  kept  things  pretty  uncomfortable. 
The  stands  were  packed,  however,  in  spite  of  the 
cold-producing  dampness.  I  was  there  from  1  to 
6  p.  M. ;  got  pretty  stiff  at  the  time  but  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  struck  in. 

I  will  send  along  the  papers  with  the  Relay  stories 
which  I  wrote  last  week.  In  the  "advance,"  or  the 
issue  of  Saturday  morning,  I  was  assisted  by  an 
editor,  Eugene  Southall.  He  has  just  been  elected 
to  the  News  Editorship  for  the  next  year.  Winthrop 
Williams  received  the  job  of  Editor-in-Chief.  "Cap" 
Townsend  was  elected  Managing  Editor. 

Aunt  Mary  and  Aunt  Faith  came  out  to  414  to 
dinner  Sunday.  Frances  was  there  and  Uncle  Al- 
fred, so  it  made  quite  a  party.  I  don't  remember 
any  bad  news  so  I  guess  it  was  all  good.  I  came 
in  at  3.30  p.  m.  to  write  the  "Relay"  story  for  the 
Monday  paper.  Got  out  from  the  office  at  12.30  a.  m., 
so  I  want  to  turn  in  pretty  early  tonight. 

Mrs.  Woodbridge  invited  me,  through  Donald,  to 
spend  two  weeks  in  Waterville,  some  time  subsequent 
to  July  28.  What  chance  is  there  that  I  would  have 
to  refuse  at  the  last  minute,  any  worth  considering? 

Tell  Jus  that  his  note  was  received  this  morning 
and  thanks  for  writing.  John  (Ike)  is  hard  at  work 
here  in  the  library  digesting  law  cases.  He  leaves 
with  the  "Mask  and  Wig"  at  the  end  of  the  week. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


At  the  University 

Ben's  letter  describing  the  Annual  Publications 
Banquet,  held  soon  after  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvanian  Board,  furnishes  an  interesting  exam- 
ple of  the  "community  of  clothes"  custom  which  is 
part  of  the  tradition  of  all  colleges  and  universities, 
being  particularly  in  vogue  at  fraternity  and  club 
houses. 

To  Ms  Mother 

3539   Locust  Street, 
Friday,  May   1,   1914. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  Monday  at  hand.  I 
expect  to  live  at  414,  beginning  Saturday  night,  and 
only  spend  Friday  nights  in  town,  as  I  have  switched 
to  that  night.  "Jack"  Lansill  and  I  are  to  be  the 
regular  editors  for  Friday  nights.  However  he  is 
the  real  boss,  as  he  is  a  full-fledged  editor,  and  I  am 
an  associate. 

Lots  of  interesting  things  have  happened  in  the 
past  twenty-four  hours.  Of  course  I  went  to  the 
33d  Annual  Publications  Banquet  last  night. 

When  I  paid  for  my  place  at  the  banquet  I  in- 
quired of  the  chairman  of  the  committee  whether  the 
affair  was  to  be  formal.  I  understood,  informal. 
Well,  with  my  usual  eleventh-hour  luck,  I  went  to 
the  office  at  6.45,  just  before  leaving  for  the  Ritten- 
house  to  banquet  at  7  o'clock.  I  had  on  my  ordinary 
blue  suit.  "Ray"  Stevens,  the  other  newly-elected 
Associate  Editor,  said:  "Are  you  going  up  to  dress 
now?"  Well,  it  didn't  take  me  long  to  find  out  where 
I  stood.  I  should  have  known  that  it  would  be 
formal,  but  I  guess  my  suspicions  were  allayed  by 

[35] 


Benjamin  ILee,  2d 

what  I  thought  the  chairman  had  said.  I  started  up 
to  8539,  but  met  "Millie"  Geyelin  (Emile  Camille). 
We  went  over  to  his  room  and  he  got  me  into  an 
assorted  combination  of  pants,  shirt  and  coat,  also 
vest,  collar  and  tie,  which  really  fitted  me  surprisingly. 
So  I  got  to  the  Rittenhouse  very  comfortably  by  ten 
minutes  past  seven,  and  was  ahead  of  half  the  bunch. 
There  were  about  forty-five  present.  The  boards  of 
the  four  publications,  Pennsylvanian,  Punch  Bowl, 
Red  and  Blue,  and  Record;  also  Mr.  James  S.  Benn, 
city  editor  of  the  N orth- American,  and  the  following 
guests,  who  were  seated  directly  opposite  me:  The 
Provost,  J.  P.  Wickersham  Crawford,  Prof.  H.  W. 
Hess  of  Wharton  School,  Deans  Quinn,  Frazer, 
McCrea.  They  all  made  speeches  (toasts — better). 
Also  the  incoming  and  outgoing  Editors-in-Chief 
responded,  and  several  alumni  who  had  been  recently 
connected  with  the  publications.  Mr.  Benn  spoke 
very  interestingly.  The  Provost  spoke  last  and,  as 
always,  with  great  power  and  feeling. 

The  banquet  and  the  addresses  were  worth  working 
for  all  year,  irrespective  of  being  on  the  paper.  Just 
think,  there  are  only  four  1917  men  who  got  to  that 
banquet.  But  I  wish  that  every  candidate  could  have 
heard  Dr.  Smith's  talk — it  was  really  an  inspiration. 
What  he  drove  at  most  was  "service" — service  to  the 
University  while  an  undergraduate,  no  matter  how 
small  the  service. 

Well,  after  the  banquet  we  got  back  to  the  office 
about  one  o'clock.  Nearer  12.30  I  guess.  The  can- 
didates had  been  putting  out  the  paper,  three  of 
them  at  least :  Robinette,  Clark  and  Spratt,  considered 

[86] 


» '  J '      '  '  '/. 


»  t  c   «' 


•^  1 1 1 


« 1 1 


»  t «.  1 
jl  « 

I  It  I 


At  the  University 

as  efficient  as  Stevens  and  myself.     They  will  prob- 
ably be  elected  this  spring. 

I  didn't  want  to  write  the  banquet  story,  but — ^not 
for  me  to  reason  why.  I  stayed  on  with  Spratt  and 
Clark  until  the  paper  was  out  at  3.30.  Got  up  at 
twelve  this  morning.  I  start  my  regular  Friday  night 
duties  tonight  but  expect  to  be  out  before  12.30,  as 
Jack  Lansill  is  very  efficient. 

Well,  it  is  almost  five  o'clock  now  and  I  must  do 
some  work  for  to-morrow. 

You  are  not  the  only  one  who  is  likely  to  go  broke 
if  I  stay  here  much  longer.  But  I  guess  it  doesn't 
cost  me  any  more  to  live  here  than  at  414.  Had  to 
shell  out  three  for  the  banquet  and  expect  to  lose  six 
more  plunks  for  my  Pennsylvanian  key,  or  emblem 
of  editorship. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
May  22,   1914. 

Dearest  Mother:  How  time  is  flying,  and  how 
busy  you  will  be  during  this  last  week  of  preparation! 
It  must  be  pretty  warm  in  Jacksonville  judging  from 
the  heat  we  are  having  here.  Try  and  do  the  least 
amount  of  tiring  work  possible,  so  as  to  arrive  here 
in  condition  to  enjoy  the  stay  a  little  bit. 

Letters  from  you  and  Jus  came  this  morning.  We 
judge  the  other  was  from  Jus,  although  it  wasn't 
signed. 

Gramps  is  having  a  very  tiresome  time.  I  am  told 
by  the  nurse  that  most  of  the  back  of  his  neck  is 

[87] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

% 

affected.  She  reported  no  real  improvement  this 
morning,  but  that  he  is  no  worse.  That  doesn't  seem 
one  bit  satisfactory.^  It  seems  to  me  as  though 
Gramps  were  too  old  to  be  laid  up  for  a  week  or 
more  with  boils,  but  I  don't  see  anything  to  be  done 
but  let  Dr.  Smith  keep  after  them. 

Everything  going  O.K.  with  me.  Got  out  the 
paper  with  Homer  Sullivan  Tuesday  night.  All  set 
up  by  1.15.  Will  take  the  paper  again  next  Tues- 
day so  as  not  to  be  too  tired  following  Saturday. 
What  train?     What  time  due  in  West  Philadelphia? 

A  hientot, 

Ben. 

In  the  fall  of  his  Freshman  year  Ben  became  in- 
terested in  "Le  Cercle  Francais,"  an  undergraduate 
organization  composed  of  students  sufficiently  inter- 
ested in  the  French  language  to  devote  some  amount 
of  time  and  attention  to  it  in  addition  to  the  required 
class-room  work.  A  play  was  produced  annually, 
and  Ben's  first  connection  with  "Le  Cercle"  was  as 
one  of  the  cast  of  Max  Maury's  "Le  Chauffeur," 
produced  in  1914.  This  was  Ben's  first  and  only  his- 
trionic flight  while  at  Pennsylvania.  In  the  next 
three  years  he  was  successively  treasurer,  vice-presi- 
dent and  president  of  the  organization.  As  treasurer 
he  was  largely  responsible  for  the  financial  success  of 
the  production  in  1915.  It  was  this  play  which  was 
the  occasion  for  the  "condition  of  dress  verdancy"  of 
the  following  letter. 

^  Ben's  grandfather,  William  W.  Justice,  died  two  days  later, 
on  May  24,  1914. 

[88] 


At  the  University 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
February  21,   1915. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  Tuesday  on  hand.  I 
hope  you  are  having  as  nice  a  day  as  this  for  your 
down-state  expedition.  Warm  sunshine  and  soft 
turf  make  spring  seem  tantaHzingly  near. 

The  play  and  dance  were  an  unqualified  success. 
The  former  went  better  than  I  would  have  supposed 
possible,  considering  length  of  time  rehearsals  had 
been  held.  The  floor  was  pretty  well  filled,  as  two 
hundred  people  came,  not  counting  players  and  man- 
aging force. 

Financially  speaking,  the  surplus  will  be  very 
slight.  Unusual  demands  on  people  this  year  re- 
sulted in  an  unusual  number  of  turned-down  patroness 
invitations.  Then  Monday  night  was  very  stormy, 
which  probably  cut  the  attendance  by  twenty-five, 
at  least.  At  any  rate,  I  am  well  out  of  it  not  to  be 
"in  the  hole." 

By  the  way — dress  suit  and  appurtenances  were  all 
hunky.  I  felt  perfectly  at  home  with  outfit.  Supped 
in  same  at  3539  before  going  to  town,  but  my  condi- 
tion of  dress  verdancy  was  quite  unsuspected;  one 
brother  knew,  but  was  under  solemn  oath  not  to 
divulge  secret. 

We  had  a  large  rushing  dinner  Tuesday  night. 
About  twenty  undergraduates,  thirty  alumni  and 
thirty  Freshmen.  The  accommodations  for  eighty 
just  about  filled  things  up.  Dinner  was  great  suc- 
cess, I  believe.  We  have  smoker  this  Tuesday  and, 
of  course,  Freshmen  to  lunch  and  supper  about  daily, 

[39] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

usually    six    to    twelve    at    lunch.      Expensive,    but 
worth  it. 

Attended  stag  birthday  dinner  at  the  Anchorage 
last  night.  Vaughan  Merrick's  twenty-first.  About 
twenty  present.  Party  broke  up  about  11.30,  and 
Jack  Hirst  brought  me  to  corner  Manheim  and 
Wissahickon  Ave.  in  auto. 

All  going  well  now. 

,  Stacks  of  love, 

Ben. 

It  was  in  January  and  February  of  1915,  just  pre- 
ceding and  during  the  "rushing  season"  of  that  year, 
that  Ben  made  the  friendships  which  proved  to  be  the 
most  intimate  and  lasting  of  his  college  career.  Al- 
though he  had  frequently  spent  several  nights  a  week 
at  the  fraternity  house  prior  to  this  time,  it  was  not 
until  after  the  Christmas  recess  that  he  lived  there 
during  the  week,  going  to  Germantown  only  for 
Saturday  and  Sunday.  This  resulted  in  a  closer  per- 
sonal relation  with  the  other  members  of  the  fraternity, 
living  at  the  house  and  around  the  University. 

During  the  months  of  rushing,  Ben's  active  par- 
ticipation resulted  in  the  making  of  acquaintances 
who,  upon  becoming  members  of  the  fraternity,  be- 
came some  of  Ben's  close  companions,  many  of  whom 
are  mentioned  in  his  letters. 


[40] 


At  the  University 
To  Mr.  J.  C.  Chme 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
April  10,  1916. 

Dear  Daddy:  Thanks  a  lot  for  your  letter  and 
trouble  to  secure  data  on  the  southern  Metropolis. 
It  is  just  what  I  wanted,  and  lots  of  help. 

Mother's  telegram  received  this  morning  put  my 
mind  at  rest  about  the  trip,  as  I  had  been  somewhat 
doubtful  about  Nana's  being  willing  to  wait  over.  It 
certainly  will  be  wonderful  to  get  South  after  all,  if 
only  for  a  few  days. 

Phil  and  I  had  a  shopping  expedition  this  after- 
noon, buying  high-cost-of-living  suits  at  Reed's,  and 
shoes  at  Steigerwalt's,  next  door.  Note  that  the  suit 
to  suit  the  schoolboy  cost  more  than  the  finery  to  fit 
the  other  fugitive.  I'll  be  sure-nuf  fugitive  in  a  few 
days,  for  all  will  want  to  scalp  me  when  they  hear  of 
my  spring  training  trip  right  into  the  balmy.  By 
the  way,  we  are  having  it  quite  warm  right  here. 
Barometer  dropping,  and  temperature  rising  to  about 
70°  odd  at  noon.  ' 

Am  bringing  air-cooled  underwear  and  ice  packs, 
hoping  you  are  the  same. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
April  12,  1916. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  will  acknowledge  your 
letter  received  this  morning,  and  two  with  trip  in- 

[41] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

formation    from   Daddy.      Mileage    received    on    my 
return  this  evening. 

To-morrow  I  will  exchange  mileage  and  secure 
berth  for  A.  C.  L.,  Palmetto  Limited,  No.  83,  leav- 
ing West  Philadelphia  at  5.42,  April  14th,  Wednes- 
day, arriving  about  7.30  or  later  Thursday.  I  expect 
to  wire  on  taking  train  Wednesday  afternoon,  so  that 
this  will  be  old  news.  But  should  you  not  receive  a 
wire,  this  will  be  the  final  decision,  and  it  would  mean 
I  had  failed  to  remember  to  telegraph. 

John  Clark  and  I  nominated  for  Managing  Editor 
of  Pennsylvanian  to-night.  He  is  a  fine  fellow  and 
an  untiring  worker.  Wants  the  job  as  badly  as  I  do 
and  has  fully  as  much  chance,  if  not  more  chance,  of 
getting  it.     Am  prepared  not  to  be  too  disappointed. 

Elections  come  next  Monday,  and  as  proxies  are 
allowed  I  need  not  be  there. 

A  jeudi! 

Lots  and  stacks  of  love, 

Ben. 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown. 
May  1,  1915. 

Deaeest  Mother:  Yours  of  Thursday  came 
promptly  at  breakfast  time  this  morning,  and  I  have 
another  received  Wednesday  at  3539 — both  bringing 
good  news. 

I  did  not  see  Mack  Angas  last  Sunday,  as  no  doubt 
he  had  no  spare  time  after  trip  both  ways  was  con- 
sidered. He  probably  went  straight  through  to  New 
York. 

I  have  given  Convention  trip  serious  consideration, 

[42] 


At  the  University 

and  have  decided  against  it.  I  appreciate  the  oppor- 
tunity and  your  kindness  in  offering  to  send  me,  and 
although  it  would  be  a  splendid  trip  in  many  ways, 
several  things  seem  to  outbalance  it  for  me  in  favor 
of  Blueberry  Farm. 

My  absence  would  include  practically  all  the  time 
Daddy,  Jus,  and  Frances  would  be  there,  as  well  as  a 
large  part  of  the  "regulars'  "  stay.  There  wouldn't 
be  much  summer  at  either  end  of  my  absence  for 
that  time  is  always  devoted  to  the  opening  and  closing 
of  shop. 

Another  thing  which  I  had  not  thought  of  until 
recently  is  that  Nana  really  needs  me  there  to  do  a 
lot  of  things  that  would  otherwise  fall  on  you  or  her- 
self.    The  place  will  certainly  never  run  itself. 

I  hope  you  won't  be  disappointed  for  me  because 
I'll  not  be  for  myself.  Am  looking  forward  to  a  real 
Camden  summer. 

Routine  work  stiffening  up  a  bit,  with  just  four 
more  weeks  of  college.  Have  cleaned  up  all  my  back 
gym  work  and  am  all  through  for  year  now. 

Phil  may  come  to  Straw  Hat  Day  Penn-Princeton 
baseball  this  afternoon.  Just  at  present  a  downpour 
seems  imminent. 

Glad  tea  went  so  well;  you  were  lucky  to  be  in  on 
first  round  as  charter  member. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love, 

Ben. 

Ben  was  sufficiently  interested  in  all  the  various 
undergraduate  activities  to  enter  competitions  in 
practically  every  department.     In  the  spring  of  his 

[43] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Sophomore  year  he  tried  out  for  assistant  track 
manager,  and  during  this  period  was  designated  to 
take  the  Freshman  team  to  Mercersburg,  an  account 
of  the  trip  being  given  in  the  following  letter. 

To  Ms  Mother 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
May  9,  1916. 

Deakest  Mother:  This  is  the  close  of  a  beautiful 
May  day  which  I  have  enjoyed,  especially  as  a  rest 
from  yesterday.  Paul  Wagner,  Murray  Spahr,  and 
I  walked  out  in  time  for  dinner,  following  the  West 
Drive.  They  went  in  town  again  at  about  3.30,  since 
when  I  have  been  reading,  and  tinkering  out  a  few 
tunes  on  piano.  Phil  rode  with  Uncle  Theodore  this 
morning. 

Yesterday,  bright  and  early,  I  rose — at  quarter  of 
eight — and  took  the  8.40  to  Harrisburg  with  my 
twenty  Freshmen  charges.  I  had  gotten  out  the 
worthy  sheet  the  night  before  until  2  a.  m. 

Lunch  was  all  ready  for  us  at  11.20  in  the  Harris- 
burg station.  Our  train  for  Chambersburg  left  in 
twenty  minutes.  We  changed  again,  arriving  in  Mer- 
cersburg at  2.30.  The  team  got  ready  right  away, 
feeling  a  bit  worn,  it  is  only  fair  to  say. 

The  track-meet  went  off  well,  our  team  losing 
forty-eight  to  fifty-nine  points.  Jimmy  Wharton 
took  third  place  in  both  high  and  low  hurdles,  which 
was  good,  considering  the  opposition.  I  want  to  get 
him  up  to  Camden  for  a  week  or  so  this  summer. 
He  is  a  little  prince,  as  are  several  others  of  our 
Freshmen. 

[  44  ] 


At  the  University 

We  had  supper  at  Mercersburg  Academy  and  took 
our  various  trains  back.  We  had  a  special  Pullman 
both  ways  from  Harrisburg,  which  made  it  nice. 
Played  cards  most  of  the  time,  thus  managing  to  stay 
awake.  The  Freshmen  were  an  unusually  nice  crowd 
and  gave  their  "manager"  no  trouble  at  all.  We 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  at  11.40,  I  going  straight  to 
3539,  and  soon  to  bed.  This  should  have  been  a  two- 
day  (over  night)  trip  to  give  our  team  a  good  chance. 
One  of  their  boys  scored  eighteen  points,  winning 
three  first  and  a  second.  He  is  planning  to  come  to 
Pennsylvania  next  year. 

I  should  like  to  get  out  for  some  golf  with  Phil, 
but  this  track-managership  work  takes  about  every 
afternoon.  I  don't  care  particularly  about  it  and 
know  who  will  get  it  ("Spike'*  Shannon,  who  roomed 
with  "Roby"  when  I  used  cot  in  dorms).  He  is  a 
good  man  to  get  it,  and  he  will,  undoubtedly.  But 
having  been  out  since  October  (not  always  so  fre- 
quently reporting,  however)  I  don't  want  to  stop 
until  the  competition  is  over.  That  would  leave  Cap. 
Townsend  rather  short-handed,  as  there  are  but  four 
others  in  the  competition  and  always  lots  to  do. 

Phil  is  much  enthused  at  possibihty  of  another  trip 
in  "Hudson,"  and  thinks  of  obtaining  information  on 
Berkshire  routes  if  you  say  anything  definite  as  to 
prospects. 

I  have  five  of  my  ten  books  of  poetry  reviewed 
for  Dr.  Weygandt,  all  are  due  by  now,  but  he  is  of 
the  "willing  to  take  them  late"  kind — in  no  way 
pedantic.  Other  work  coming  along  pretty  well. 
I  think  there  will  be  no  doubt  of  my  passing  F  and 

[46] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

A  1,  Bookkeeping  and  Accounting  this  year,  although 
probably  one-third  of  the  class  taking  now  will  flunk. 
I  really  understand  what  I  do  in  it  now. 

Hope  you  are  all  in  top  condition  and  not  feeling 
heat  as  yet.    My  love  to  Frances  when  you  see  her. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

In  the  summer  of  1915  Ben  added  a  fast-sailing 
canoe  to  the  fleet  of  boats  on  Lake  Megunticook. 
Another  trip  was  made  to  the  White  Mountains,  this 
time  by  automobile.  Before  an  early  start  to  Water- 
ville,  N.  H.,  on  the  morning  of  July  21,  Ben  wrote 
the  following  lines  and  left  them  as  a  greeting  on 
his  mother's  desk. 

To  Mother 

Were  I  a  bird,  at  dawn  of  day, 

I'd  seek  your  home,  tho'  miles  away, 

Rest  on  your  roof,  and  keep  all  fear. 

Danger  or  harm  from  coming  near. 

And   wake   you   with   song — sweet,   soft,   clear; 

'Twould  make  no  dif'rence  to  you,  dear. 

Were  I  a  bird. 

The  first  two  years  which  Ben  spent  at  the  Uni- 
versity were,  in  a  sense,  experimental.  During  that 
time  he  discovered  those  courses  and  subjects  in  which 
he  was  most  interested.  His  various  excursions  in 
practically  every  branch  of  University  activity  and 
competition  had  taught  him  likewise  the  best  outlets 
for  his  natural  likes  and  abilities. 

By  the  time  Ben  had  reached  his  Junior  year,  his 

[46] 


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»  t  »  « 


At  the  University 

college  career  had  assumed  a  definite  direction.  His 
greatest  enthusiasm  had  been  developed  in  under- 
graduate interests  which  demanded  either  literary  or 
executive  talent.  His  work  in  these  lines  of  endeavor 
had  already  achieved  results.  He  entered  competi- 
tions for  the  editorial  boards  of  the  Punch  Bowl,  sl 
humorous  magazine  published  monthly  by  students  of 
the  University,  and  the  Class  Record,  the  undergrad- 
uate annual.  He  was  elected  an  editor  of  the  Punch 
Bowl  in  January,  1916,  and  Managing  Editor  of  the 
Record  at  the  end  of  the  college  year.  Ben  also  be- 
came involved  more  and  more  in  University,  class, 
and  fraternity  affairs.  He  was  a  member  of  all  kinds 
of  committees  of  more  or  less  importance,  but  requir- 
ing in  the  aggregate  a  great  deal  of  time  and  effort. 
In  this  way  he  soon  became  closely  identified  with 
those  organizations  through  which  the  undergraduate 
mind  and  sentiment  makes  itself  known  and  felt. 

In  the  fall  of  1915  Ben  established  his  headquarters 
at  the  fraternity  house  and,  from  that  time  on,  spent 
most  of  his  time,  when  in  Philadelphia,  around  the 
campus,  going  to  his  grandmother's  home  in  German- 
town  over  Saturdays  and  Sundays.  He  became  a 
part  of  the  social  life  of  the  University  and  the  fra- 
ternity in  a  degree  which  is  possible  only  when  living 
on  the  campus  as  one  of  the  student-body.  Frequent 
sessions  of  bridge  in  Ben's  room  after  dinner  which 
the  best  of  intentions  very  often  failed  to  restrict  to 
the  time  limit  of  one  hour,  originally  fixed,  made  new 
friends  and  acquaintances,  and  served  to  sharpen  the 
intellect  for  the  battle  with  learning  later  in  the 
evening.    Ben  had  many  nightly  visitors  attracted  by 

[47] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

the  supplies  of  cheese  and  crackers  and  other  in- 
digestibles  frequently  on  hand,  or  by  the  prospect 
of  a  long  bicker  during  which  any  proposition,  how- 
ever profound,  could  be  settled  on  the  instant  by  a 
suggestion  of  adjournment  to  the  White  House  for 
the  consumption  of  a  hybrid  meal,  the  main  purpose 
of  which  was  to  dispense  with  the  necessity  of  break- 
fast next  morning,  thereby  insuring  an  extra  half 
hour's  nap. 

With  the  approach  of  midnight  the  mind  of  the 
American  college  student  inevitably  turns  to  thoughts 
of  food.  He  has  no  characteristic  more  universal;  it 
seems  to  be  acquired  instinctively  upon  matriculation. 
It  probably  accounts,  in  part,  for  Ben's  marked  popu- 
larity immediately  following  the  arrival  of  a  box  of 
oranges  from  Jacksonville.  It  may  also  explain  the 
celebration  of  his  twenty-first  birthday  in  which  a 
suit-case  full  of  fruit,  candy,  cake  and  jam,  and  a  jug 
of  cider  figured  prominently. 

Late  in  the  spring  of  1916  Ben  was  elected  his- 
torian of  his  class  for  his  Senior  year.  He  also  made 
Friars,  a  Senior  society.  The  latter  honor  marked 
him  as  an  undergraduate  of  prominence,  a  man  whose 
influence  for  the  best  interests  of  the  college  and 
importance  in  the  life  of  the  college  community  was 
recognized. 

In  July,  1916,  Ben  was  asked  to  join  a  party  on 
a  trip  to  Glacier  National  Park.  He  was  reluctant 
to  leave  the  pleasures  of  Camden,  but  finally  decided 
it  was  too  good  an  opportunity  to  miss.  His  letters, 
only  three  of  which  are  given,  show  how  greatly  he 
enjoyed  and  appreciated  the  wonderful  scenery  and 

[48] 


At  the  University 

the  greater  opportunities  for  more  diflScult  climbing 
than  any  he  had  yet  tried. 

To  his  Mother 

-  Many    Glacier    Hotel, 

Glacier    National   Park, 
Wednesday,  August  2,  1916. 

Dearest  Mother:  A  letter  and!  a  big  envelope  and 
letter  received  Monday  night  and  now  at  hand.  Glad 
all  going  as  per  u.  o.  at  Blueberry. 

Just  received  a  letter  from  Harry  Wharton  making 
it  all  O.K.  for  him.  Will  probably  meet  me  at  Boston 
or  Portsmouth  and  come  North.  We  can  go  to 
camp  in  a  day  if  desirable  and  plan  that  way. 

You  may  be  reassured  about  my  health  and  con- 
fident your  dreams  due  to  lobster,  etc.  May  not  be 
gaining  weight  but  am  getting  hard  as  nails. 

My  last  letter  reported  up  to  and  including  trips 
to  "Going  to  the  Sun,"  I  believe. 

Sunday  we  took  the  riding  trip  to  Swift  Current 
Pass,  with  Mrs.  Dodge,  Josephine,  Fay  and  others. 
We  were  again  fortunate  with  weather  and  had  a 
fine  all-day  ride,  with  an  on-foot  climb  up  the  Pass. 
Trip  would  have  been  a  trifle  dull  but  novelty  of 
having  real  youth  to  talk  to  made  it  fine.  J.  D.  and 
I  beat  it  back  and  had  earlier  supper  and  a  row  on 
the  lake  at  the  finest  time  for  the  evening  lights. 

The  riding  has  not  laid  me  out  at  all  although  in 
most  cases  I  would  rather  walk — i.e.,  go  faster  with 
not  much  more  effort — and  save  three  or  four  dollars 
a  day! 

Monday  I  struck  off  alone  at  8.30  a.  m.,  with  lunch 

[49] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

and  camera.  Went  six  miles  up  the  Piegan  Trail  and 
climbed  to  an  altitude  of  about  8,000  up  some  reason- 
ably stiff  cliffs,  to  photograph  the  Bridal  Veil  Falls 
that  drop  sheer  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  and  alto- 
gether about  1,000.  Found  it  easier  going  up  than 
down,  and  crossed  the  shoulder  towards  the  Grinnell 
Glacier.  Followed  eight  goats  one  hour,  but  too 
quick  for  me  and  failed  photo.  It  was  one  o'clock 
by  then  and  I  ate  a  bit  of  lunch  and  loaded  my  trusty 
camera  with  films  one  year  old,  bought  here.  Prob- 
ably all  will  go  bad!  Horrible  thought.  Walked  for 
an  hour  across  the  Glacier  snow  field. 

•  •••••••• 

By  referring  to  the  more  or  less  accurate  aeroplane 
map  which  I  sent  you,  you  can  follow  the  various 
trips.  Continuous  dotted  line  indicates  course  on 
Monday. 

•  Ate  more  lunch  at  3.30,  having  covered  a  couple 
of  miles  of  glacier,  then  went  down  towards  the  falls 
to  find  a  way  down  to  Grinnell  Lake  and  trail.  The 
snow  field  in  cross  section  was  like  this: 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •,•  • 

So  I  had  to  cross  over  to  Grinnell  Mountain  and 
find  an  arroyo  down  which  to  scramble.  This  was 
slow  work,  but  not  half  as  slow  as  when  still  about 
1,200  feet  above  the  lake  I  hit  the  alder  thickets. 
It  took  about  two  hours  to  cover  a  mile  and  half 
through  this  underbrush,  down  hill.  Then  at  6.30 
I  finished  up  lunch,  which  consisted  of  one  sandwich 
and  orange  at  that  time.  By  7.30  I  struck  an  un- 
familiar trail  and  it  took  me  an  hour  and  half  in, 
losing  my  way  once,  when  in  sight  of  hotel,  for  half 

[60] 


At  the  Urdversity 

an  hour.  I  was  across  the  lake!  Twilight  lasts  until 
nine,  and  it  wasn't  dark  yet  when  I  came  in.  Am 
told  a  trail  will  soon  be  made  where  I  came  down, 
which  is  the  only  place  you  could  come  down  from  the 

glacier.     As    I   had   warned    Cousin    H that    I 

might  be  late,  she  was  only  just  getting  ready  to 
worry  when  I  pulled  in.  A  hot  bath  put  me  in  shape 
for  a  fine  sleep.  Got  the  trained  nurse  to  tie  up  my 
right  ankle,  which  I  had  turned.  That  it  was  not 
sprained  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  it  is  now  sound. 

Yesterday  we  ponied  to  Iceberg  Lake,  which  is 
highly  interesting.  To-day  another  fine  one,  but  we 
are  laying  off  just  for  luck.  Friday  to  Tuesday, 
inclusive,  I  travelled  thirty-four  miles  by  pony  and 
sixty-eight  on  foot,  climbing  from  the  hotel  level  of 
4,500  to  7,000  or  more  four  times.  My  tramping 
shoes  are  wrecked.  We  have  horses  for  to-morrow 
and  go  over  to  Piegan  Pass,  to  Sun  Camp,  Friday. 
Don't  mind  going  over  that  any  number  of  times. 
Will  be  there  Saturday,  Sunday,  Monday,  and  Glacier 
Hotel  Tuesday  and  Wednesday.     Stacks  of  love. 

Benino. 

GOING-TO-THE-SUN     ChALETS, 

Glacier    National    Park, 
Sunday,  August  7,  1916. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  is  a  quiet,  clear  day — just 
suitable  for  a  mountain  Sunday.  Our  days  have  been 
full  and  time  flying  as  usual  here. 

Thursday  morning  I  rode  to  Cracker  Lake  with 
Uncle  Theodore.  Afternoon  took  it  easy  and  packed 
up.     Cousin  Hilda  and  I,  with  guide  and  two  other 

[61] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

travellers,  left  at  9.00  a.  m.  Friday  morning  with 
horses.  We  lunched  at  Piegan  Pass — my  third  lunch 
eaten  there.  I  climbed  to  the  Siyeh  Pass,  killing  a 
couple  of  hours  and  reaching  here  a  half  hour  after 
balance  of  the  party  who  had  been  travelling  steadily. 

Yesterday  we  rode  to  Gunsight  Lake  and  lunched 
there.  By  that  time  I  was  getting  pretty  bored  of 
riding  slower  than  I  can  walk,  so  I  again  deserted, 
and  went  to  the  Blackfeet  Glacier — ^that  is,  as  near 
as  possible.  Climbed  to  about  8,000  feet  level  on  Mt. 
Jackson — elevation  10,000,  then  had  to  start  back. 
Had  the  same  pony  as  the  day  before  and  knew  what 
he  could  do.  Came  back  from  Gunsight  the  nine 
miles  in  1.20,  a  saving  of  an  hour  and  forty  minutes 
over  time  taken  going  up. 

We  are  comfortably  fixed  here.  To-morrow, 
weather  permitting,  I  will  hike  to  Sperry  Camp,  over 
Gunsight  Pass,  eighteen  miles.  Tuesday  morning  see 
Sperry  Glacier  and  arrive  Lewis'  Hotel,  Lake 
McDonald — only  seven  miles  further.  Leaving  there 
by  boat  and  bus,  and  train,  Belton  to  Glacier.  Arrive 
Glacier  Park  Hotel  Wednesday  afternoon  in  time  to 
pack  up  and  leave  Thursday  with  party.  Expect  to 
pick  up  another  hiker  or  two  for  trip  to-morrow,  but 
can  get  along  nicely  without. 

This  is  a  wonderful  location.  Mr.  Hill  has  a  camp 
on  other  side  of  the  lake.  Would  like  to  investigate 
it.    He  is  never  there. 

Received  another  letter  and  enclosures  about  Thurs- 
day.   Mileage  now  about  100  horse  and  75  foot. 

Love  to  all.  *  «.     .         , 

AflPectionately, 

Ben, 

[52] 


At  the  University 

Lewis'  Hotel,  Lake  McDonald, 

Tuesday,  August  8,  1916. 

2  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  I  mailed  a  postal  this  morning 
— it  should  reach  you  the  same  time  as  this  note. 

Sunday  we  took  it  easy,  walking  to  the  Sexton 
Glacier  in  the  morning.  I  left  my  camera  up  part 
way  and  had  to  walk  back  for  it  in  the  afternoon, 
which  was  pleasant  enough.  Uncle  Theodore  pulled 
out  on  the  morning  boat,  and  headed  for  Glacier  Park 
and  comfort. 

Met  a  man  named  King  from  Iowa  on  Monday 
morning,  and  we  joined  forces  for  the  tramp  over 
Gunsight  Pass.  We  had  breakfast  at  6.30  and  pulled 
out  at  7.30,  arriving  at  Gunsight  Lake  by  10.30,  nine 
miles.  The  climb  up  the  pass  was  stiff  but  beautiful, 
and  as  the  divide  has  a  lake  just  each  side  of  it,  this 
adds  to  the  effect.  We  lunched  on  the  Continental 
Divide,  at  an  altitude  of  6,900,  having  climbed  from 
a  lake  altitude  of  4,400.  Then  we  descended  to  Lake 
Ellen  Wilson  and  climbed  back  another  1,500  feet  to 
a  second  pass,  and  then  into  Sperry  Camps.  As  we 
got  there  by  3.30  we  did  not  have  to  stay,  and  the 
place  was  not  particularly  attractive.  We  got  some 
oranges,  which  were  most  refreshing,  and  tramped  on 
in  here  the  balance  of  the  twenty-four  miles. 

This  makes  my  total  mileage  in  Park  since  Friday 
before  last  about  100  horse  (eighteen  miles  a  day  for 
eleven  days),  and  100  on  foot.  Would  have  done  all 
on  foot  with  as  much  comfort  and  pleasure  and  saved 
about  $30,  but  of  course  riding  and  walking  don't  go 
well  on  same  trip  and  same  party. 

[53] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Went  out  after  a  swim  and  supper  and  saw  five 
or  six  black  bears  feeding.     No  grizzly  showed  up. 

Have  loafed  around  to-day  after  a  big  night's 
sleep,  and  will  be  glad  to  get  out.  Comfortable  place 
but  nothing  to  do  when  stopping  for  such  a  short 
time.  Take  the  boat  at  4  p.m.  (it  is  now  3  p.m.), 
arriving  Belton  in  time  for  supper,  and  train  to 
Glacier  Park,  arrive  about  9.30  p.  m.  That  gives  me 
to-morrow  to  get  things  straightened  out  and  go 
through  heavy  mail  that  must  await  me  there.  Last 
mail  received  at  Many  Glacier.  All  held  since  we 
left  there.  M.  G.  best  place  for  a  week's  stay — am 
homesick  for  it!  We  were  oldest  L.  I's  by  the  time 
we  left,  and  were  personally  known  to  all  hotel  force. 

Met  several  interesting  people  there,  including  orig- 
inal explorer  of  the  Park,  Mr.  Grinnell,  for  whom 
glacier  is  named. 

Haven't  worn  hat  or  cap  on  any  trip  and  am 
pretty  well  burned,  but  train  will  take  it  all  off,  I 
guess. 

Hope  all  well  and  going  as  usual. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Ben's  letters  written  while  at  college  frequently 
failed  to  inform  his  family — an  omission  of  which  he 
was  wholly  unconscious — whether  he  was  still  attend- 
ing classes  and  complying  with  the  other  requirements 
incidental  to  obtaining  a  degree.  Like  most  boys  in 
his  position,  the  routine  of  classroom  work  and  study 
after  two  years  had  become  so  much  a  part  of  his  life 
and  changed  so  slightly  from  week  to  week  as  to  call 

[64] 


At  the  University 

forth  very  little,  if  any,  comment.  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  the  present  generation  of  parents  will  appre- 
ciate the  following  typical  letter,  written  on  the  day 
after  his  twenty-second  birthday. 

To  his  Mother  ^ 

3539   Locust   Street,   Philadelphia, 
November  5,  1916. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  birthday  letter  and  en- 
closure received  with  much  pleasure  yesterday  morn- 
ing on  rising  at  10  a.  m.  Many  thanks  for  both. 
Also  one  from  Jus  and  a  long  letter  from  Cece 
awaited  me  at  414  Manheim. 

Couldn't  get  hold  of  Phil  Saturday,  so  went  to  the 
Haverford-F.  M.  game  with  Bud  and  Phil  McMas- 
ter.  Fine  game,  Haverford  winning  handily  21-0 
by  great  playing. 

Am  thinking  of  starting  military  training  course 
here.  Uniforms  and  equipment  necessary  will  cost 
$15  to  $20,  which  is  quite  an  item.  Perhaps  Daddy 
could  suggest  a  remedy,  as  I  know  he  favors  the 
training. 

Thanks  lots  for  offering  to  cover  cost  of  Pittsburg 
trip,  but  we  made  it  so  economically  that  I  can  do 
all  right  without  financial  shipwreck.  However,  I 
might  suggest  that  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the 
Michigan  trip,  which  all  good  Pennsylvanians  will 
take.  This  is  the  trip  I  planned  but  did  not  take  two 
years  ago.  Am  on  the  "Michigan  Trip  Committee," 
which  implies  going,  but  gets  no  rake-off,  as  our 
class  has  abohshed  the   old  graft  along  those  lines. 

[65] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Trip  will  be  from  Friday  night  or  afternoon  to  Sun- 
day night  or  early  Monday.     Game  is  played  at  Ann 
Arbor,  Michigan,  November  18.     No  details  of  the 
trip  as  yet  arranged. 
Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

This  letter  also  illustrates  one  of  the  ingenious 
methods  by  which  Ben  relieved  the  continuous  finan- 
cial stringency  common  to  all  students,  however  large 
or  small  may  be  their  allowances. 

The  Pittsburg  trip  referred  to  was  made  by  motor 
with  four  members  of  the  fraternity  to  see  the  Penn- 
sylvania University  of  Pittsburg  football  game.  The 
return  journey,  a  matter  of  about  eleven  hours'  run- 
ning time  between  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia,  was 
rendered  memorable  by  travelling  part  of  the  distance 
over  the  ties  of  a  trolley  track  at  a  point  where  the 
road  curved  and  the  track  did  not  follow. 

Ben  was  considering  very  seriously  during  his 
Senior  year  the  nature  of  what  he  was  going  to 
undertake  after  graduation.  A  farm  was  proposed 
at  one  time  and  favorably  discussed.  Joining  forces 
with  his  brother  Justice  in  Florida  was  a  possibility, 
but  the  fact  that  practically  all  his  friends  and  com- 
panions lived  in  or  near  Philadelphia  tended  to  dis- 
courage this  project.  The  truth  of  the  matter  was 
that  Ben  had  reached  no  satisfactory  decision.  He  felt 
that  his  four  years  in  the  Wharton  School  were  point- 
ing the  way  into  a  business  which  would  eventually 
keep  him  tied  down  to  an  office.     What  he  really 

[  66  1 


At  the  University 

desired  was  work  in  which  outdoors  played  a  great 
part.  He  also  never  relinquished  entirely  the  thought 
of  journalistic  or  editorial  work,  in  which  he  took  the 
greatest  pleasure.  The  uncertainty  in  Ben's  own 
mind  was  reflected  in  his  letters. 

To  his  Mother 

3539   Locust   Street,   Philadelphia, 
February  8,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Two  of  your  letters  at  hand 
since  my  last  writing  ten  days  ago.  Sorry  to  have 
waited  so  long,  but  other  things  seemed  .to  butt  in 
at  otherwise  opportune  times  for  letters. 

Previous  to  your  letter  mentioning  his  presence, 
I  had  gotten  in  touch  with  Uncle  Charley.  He  came 
out  to  lunch  last  Friday  and  stayed  a  while  after- 
wards. Hope  to  get  him  out  to  Germantown  this 
or  next  Sunday. 

In  re  law  there  is  just  one  point  on  which  you  need 
straightening  out.  There  are  not  "many  other  inter- 
ests absorbing  you  at  college"  when  that  department 
is  entered.  The  Law  School  men  take  absolutely  no 
part,  in  fact  they  are  not  eligible  in  undergraduate 
activities,  they  might  as  well  not  be  at  Pennsylvania 
except  for  a  few  big  athletic  events! 

Mighty  sorry  to  hear  of  such  a  bad  freeze.  Al- 
though weather  has  been  severe  until  today,  I  had 
no  idea  of  Florida  damage.  The  papers  have  been 
so  full  of  war  news  that  otherwise  important  things 
have  been  overlooked. 

This  is  the  final  word  to  me  against  coming  South. 
It  backs  up  my  belief  that  it  would  be  unwise  for 

[67] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

all  of  us  to  concentrate  our  interest  in  "fickle  Florida." 
Like  fertile  and  sunny  Italy  near  Vesuvius,  she  can't 
be  trusted  too  far.  Well,  I  hope  the  damage  will  not 
extend  beyond  the  year's  crop  at  any  rate. 

One  more  exam,  tomorrow  and  the  tale  will  be  told. 
After  I  got  going,  the  daily  exams,  last  week  were 
not  so  bad.  I  have  heard  from  four  of  them,  and 
from  Tuesday's. 

Went  to  "Very  Good  Eddy"  with  Paul  and  his 
father  and.  mother,  after  dinner  at  the  Bellevue. 
(Note,  I  never  attempt  to  study  the  evening  after 
an  afternoon  exam.)  Friday  night  I  go  to  see 
Beerbohm  Tree  in  "Henry  VIII." 

Had  planned  a  trip  to  Reading  over  Saturday  and 
Sunday,  but  Paul  has  to  marry  off  his  friend,  F.  S. 
Brown,  Jr.,  instead. 

Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Sister 

3539   Locust    Street,    Philadelphia, 
February   12,   1917. 

Dear  Cece:  Instead  of  sending  you  a  Valentine 
I  am  going  to  "tear  you  off  a  bit  of  a  letter,"  with 
local  news  to  date. 

Phil  stayed  up  at  school  last  night.  They  had  some 
kind  of  a  minstrel  show,  supposed  to  be  given  by 
colored  people.  .  .  .  He  showed  up  this  morning  in 
time  to  join  in  for  the  waffle  party  we  were  still 
having  at  9.30,  and  acted  as  though  he  hadn't  had 
any  breakfast   at  all  at   school.     Then  we  went  to 

[  58  ] 


t 


en 


o 

CD 
O 


o 


»   »  4   t 


At  the  University 

church  and  distinguished  ourselves  again  as  ushers. 
There  were  an  unusual  number  of  people  at  church, 
and  most  of  them  on  Phil's  side,  so  he  had  to  work 
pretty  hard.  Donald  Woodbridge  promised  to  put 
$5.00  in  my  dipper,  but  he  put  5  cents  instead! 

Three  of  the  boys  from  the  Fraternity  came  out  to 
GermantoVn  with  me  last  night,  and  after  supper 
we  had  "some"  bridge.  My  partner  and  I  were 
beaten  four  rubbers  to  six,  but  we  did  very  nicely 
in  successful  doubles,  and  wound  up  sixty-nine  points 
ahead.  This  afternoon  I  walked  in  with  Murray 
Spahr.     It  was  pretty  cold,  about  25°  I  think. 

Hope  you  and  Daddy  will  keep  in  riding  trim  until 
the  Easter  vacation,  so  that  Phil  and  I  can  have  a 
few  more  of  those  dandy  cross-country  gallops  with 
you. 

Bestow  affectionate  kisses  for  me  upon  my  nephews, 
and  believe  me  your  affectionate  brother, 

Ben. 

The  declaration  of  war  in  1917  solved  these  diffi- 
culties for  Ben.  The  important  question  now  to  be 
decided  was  what  his  part  in  the  war  was  to  be.  That 
he  actually  did  get  into  the  service  which  he  really 
desired  to  enter  was  largely  due  to  his  way  of  tackling 
a  situation.  Ben  first  made  up  his  own  mind  as  to 
exactly  what  he  wanted  to  do  and  how  he  was  going 
to  do  it.  After  that  the  accomplishment  of  his  task 
or  the  achievement  of  his  end  became  much  simpler. 
His  proverbial  "luck"  was  nothing  more  than  the 
application  of  this  rule  upon  all  occasions  to  which 
it  was  fitted.     He  chose  aviation,  guided  very  prob- 

[69] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

ably  by  the  same  sporting  instinct  which  refused  to 
recognize  that  a  curve  in  the  road  could  be  more  than 
a  quarter-turn.  Any  curves  which  violated  this  rule 
of  the  road  merely  added  to  the  thrills  of  life  and 
motoring,  both  for  Ben  and  his  passengers. 

Aviation  was  undoubtedly  in  Ben's  thoughts  for  at 
least  two  years  before  April  6,  1917.  During  the  early 
months  of  1917,  as  it  became  more  and  more  evident 
that  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States  could 
not  long  be  delayed,  this  preference  grew  into  a  deter- 
mination to  make  every  effort  to  join  the  air  forces. 
Having  made  his  decision,  he  considered  the  possibili- 
ties of  both  Army  and  Navy.  At  first,  the  Army 
seemed  more  attractive,  but  upon  investigation  he  con- 
cluded that  the  Navy  offered  a  better  chance  for  early 
active  service.    And  so  it  was  Naval  Aviation. 


[60] 


Training  at  Miami,  Newport  News,  Norfolk 
April,  1917 — December,  1917 


Ill 

Training  at  Miami,  Newport  News,  Norfolk 
April,  1917 — December,  1917 

In  April,  1917,  Ben  was  spending  the  spring 
vacation  in  Florida  as  usual,  when  war  was  declared 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany.  He  had 
abeady  made  up  his  mind  that  he  wished  to  enter  the 
aviation  service.  He  returned  to  Philadelphia  to 
make  arrangements  for  his  graduation  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  after  a  few  days 
returned  to  Florida,  going  at  once  to  Miami,  where 
he  had  private  instruction  in  Naval  Aviation  from 
Harold  Kantner. 

To  his  Mother 

Miami,  Florida, 
April  22,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  will  accompany  Daddy 
and  supplement  his  latest  news  from  the  front.  You 
will  get  it  good  and  hot  from  the  griddle,  as  he  leaves 
here  to-night  and  should  reach  Jacksonville  in  the 
afternoon,  no  doubt. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  day,  starting  with  a  motor 
trip  to  Cocoanut  Grove,  where  we  spent  half  an  hour 
with  cousin  Edith  Gifford.  We  went  in  Graham's 
car,  which  I  drove  with  varying  success.  Then  I  ice- 
cream  suited   and   we   went   to   the   beach   with   the 

[68] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

Grahams  and  Robinsons  in  their  cars.     Had  a  fine 
swim  in  a  surfless  sea. 

We  dined  to-day  with  cousins  Fanny  and  "Hap" 
Davis,  then  I  caught  a  ride  back  to  the  city  and  got 
into  my  old  brown  suit. 

So  far  I  have  flown  twice  Thursday  afternoon,  the 
second  time  for  instruction,  and  then  about  12  and 
5.30  Friday  and  Saturday,  and  5.30  this  afternoon. 
I  am  afraid  that  over  100  minutes  have  been  used 
up  already.  Will  settle  to-morrow  for  the  first  batch. 
My  flights  have  averaged  about  twenty-five  minutes. 

Did  poorly  yesterday  afternoon,  but  better  again 
this  afternoon.  First  we  start  off  and  I  am  supposed 
to  handle  everything  but  the  throttle.  We  leave  the 
water,  then  Kantner  throttles  down  to  a  slower 
speed,  and  I  try  to  head  straight  across  the  bay  for 
a  certain  point,  keeping  not  over  two  to  five  feet 
from  the  water.  Then  we  go  full  speed,  rise  to  200 
feet  and  turn  right  or  left,  coming  back  across  the  bay 
with  the  wind  and  climbing  a  little.  We  always  rise 
and  land  against  the  wind,  which  is  usually  straight 
across  the  bay.  When  we  have  turned,  I  push  her  over 
and  Kantner  closes  the  throttle,  and  I  try  to  make  a 
good  landing,  hitting  water  very  gradually. 

Made  the  round  trip  four  times.  The  third  landing 
elicited  an  O.K.,  and  the  fourth  was  bum.  I  should 
improve  them  a  lot  to-morrow,  though  you  never  can 
tell.  Sometimes,  when  trying  to  make  sure  of  a 
newly  explained  point  in  management,  I  forget  some- 
thing much  more  important.  Kantner  then  blows  me 
up  and  the  lesson  is  over  for  the  time  being.  I  guess 
lie  gets  tired  of  correcting  the  same  bonehead  mis- 

[64] 


Training  at  Miami  ' 

takes  about  the  fourth  or  fifth  time.  However,  I  am 
making  headway  about  six  times  as  fast  as  if  at  the 
land  school,  where  there  are  more  than  ten  to  a 
machine,  and  manage  to  fly  ten  minutes  a  day  each 
at  the  start. 

There  are  some  good  scouts  at  the  field.  They 
leave  town  usually  at  five,  however,  but  are  some- 
times around  during  the  day  and  evening.  Of  course 
my  evenings,  so  far,  have  been  pretty  well  taken  up, 
Daddy  being  here  to  knock  around  with. 

Daddy  has  certainly  been  corking  and  has  spent  a 
whole  lot  of  time  in  Jacksonville,  too,  helping  fix 
things  up.  I  have  more  than  half  enough  for  the 
course  now  in  bank.  But  I  am  getting  every  minute 
in  the  air  that  I  can,  for  Kantner  certainly  is  a  fine 
instructor. 

I  apparently  have  lots  of  free  time,  but  actually  I 
have  to  be  right  there  in  case  some  one  else  doesn't 
show  up,  and  also  to  learn  by  observation. 

Lots  of  love  to  all,  with,  as  Cece  says,  "a  big  share 
for  yourself." 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Mr.  J.  C.  Chase 

Miami,  Florida, 
April  28,   1917. 

Deak  Daddy:  Yours  of  Thursday  and  Friday  at 
hand.  The  advisability  of  taking  and  passing  the 
Aero  Club  test  for  the  license  rests  largely  on  the 
fact  that  this  would  provide  a  definite  result  or  proof 

[65] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

of  accomplishment  to  date,  which  would  be  universally 
accepted  at  greater  face  value  than  a  mere  Curtiss 
Co.  certificate.  This  would  be  a  stepping-stone,  in 
other  words.  In  comparing  the  time  spent  on  the 
boat  you  must  recall  that  it  is  generally  conceded  to 
be  easier  to  learn  than  the  operation  of  a  tractor  land 
machine,  and  that  the  pupil  can  start  at  once,  as  I 
did,  "paddling  my  own  plane,"  without  the  same 
danger  of  breakage,  and  Mr.  Kantner  says  that  he 
has  let  many  pupils  take  the  tests  on  less  experience 
and  ability.  I  have  been  doing  the  tests  for  three 
days,  and  with  twenty  minutes  in  the  air  alone,  to 
get  used  to  the  different  weight-balance  of  the  ma- 
chine, should  have  no  difficulty  in  passing  same.  This 
could  be  done  Monday  afternoon  or  Tuesday  morning, 
and  I  would  then  have  something  to  show  for  the 
investment  here.  The  deposit  of  $6,000  by  wire  in 
the  bank  imder  the  agreement  is  simply  a  necessary 
formality,  and  there  is  not  a  chance  in  the  world  of 
damaging  the  machine.  The  extra  time  required 
will  all  come  well  within  the  $400  anticipated,  as  I 
have  a  margin  of  over  an  hour  left. 

Please  understand  that  I  do  not  say  this  is  neces- 
sary for  my  future  progress,  because  I  do  not  know 
enough  about  requirements,  etc.,  but  if  there  is  no 
particular  objection,  it  would  seem  wise  to  take  this 
test  while  still  under  the  supervison  and  advice  of 
Kantner,  and  over  the  course  for  which  I  made  the 
buoys  myself  and  over  which  I  have  flown  many  times. 

Mr.  Kantner  keeps  an  accurate  record  of  time  in 
the  air  day  by  day,  and  I  shall  copy  this  oif  and  get 
him  to  certify  same  for  me. 


Training  at  Miami 

If  I  can  get  into  the  proper  Naval  Reserve  chan- 
nels, with  the  opportunity  to  help  repair  and  care 
for  machines  and  fly  a  reasonable  amount,  I  can  then 
qualify  for  the  tests  necessary  for  an  ofiicership  in 
the  Naval  Reserve.  As  in  the  O.  R.  C.  Aviation 
Section  this  would  require  several  months,  and  per- 
haps twenty  or  more  hours  of  flying.  But  what  I 
now  have  secured  in  the  way  of  foundation  should 
prove  of  great  assistance  in  getting  into  the  afore- 
mentioned proper  berth.  That  is  why  I  believe  the 
license  entitling  me  to  fly  a  boat  alone  would  be 
conclusive  and  important  evidence. 

Trusting  that  this  will  find  the  family  in  continued 
good  health,  and  that  I  may  see  same  within  a  rea- 
sonable time,  I  am 

Always  affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Ms  Mother 

Miami,  Florida, 
April  30,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Letters  from  you,  from  Jus, 
and  a  long  one  from  Daddy  received  in  this  morn- 
ing's mail,  not  to  mention  a  telegram  which  the 
faithful    Mr.    Frazure   brought    in   this   morning    at 

3  A.  M. 

Went  down  to  see  J.  Graham  after  breakfast  and 
secured  what  will  apparently  do  the  trick,  his  sig- 
nature for  Chase  &  Co.  on  the  Curtiss  form.  I  have 
also  Kantner's  O.K.  written  on  the  wire  to  him,  and 
a  statement  of  time  in  the  air,  also  signed. 

Have  not  flown  as  yet  to-day,  but  expect  to  go  up 

[67] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d  / 

solo  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  this  afternoon,  and 
practice  landing  within  150  feet  of  buoy.  Then  I 
have  a  date  with  Mr.  Pancoast,  the  Aero  Club  ob- 
server, for  6  A.  M.  to-morrow ,  when  I  will  proceed 
with  the  test,  which  will  call  for  not  over  half  an  hour's 
flying,  ten  figure  eights  and  two  landings  to  buoy.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  Present  plan  is  to  leave  here  some  time  to-mor- 
row afternoon,  in  Kantner's  car,  spend  the  night  at 
Palm  Beach,  if  possible  to  get  that  far,  and  the  next  at 
Daytona,  arriving  Jacksonville  some  time  Thursday. 

.  .  .  After  to-morrow  noon  I  will  be  moving  North  as 
fast  as  letters  almost,  but  will  get  something  off 
to-morrow. 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Miami,  Florida, 
May  1,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother  :  .  .  .  Flew  for  about  half  an  hour 
all  told  this  morning,  for  the  first  time  alone  in 
the  machine.  I  was  perfectly  confident  and  managed 
well  enough  to  escape  criticism  from  Kantner.  How- 
ever the  machine  carries  farther  on  the  coast,  or 
volplane,  as  it  is  lighter,  and  seemed  to  throw  me  out 
on  the  distance,  so  that  each  time  I  landed  over  200  feet 
beyond  the  buoy.  Just  before,  with  Kantner  in  the 
machine,  I  had  stopped  right  alongside.  I  guess  it 
would  have  been  too  much  to  expect  a  perfect  record 
on  the  test  on  my  first  solo  flight. 

Mr.  Pancoast,  the  observer,  is  very  nice  about  it, 
and  urged  me  to  try  again  this  afternoon,  or  to-mor- 

[68] 


Training  at  Miami 

row  morning,  if  the  wind  comes  up  this  afternoon. 
He  takes  a  real  personal  interest  in  it,  as  does  of 
course  Kantner,  as  you  can  see  by  the  fact  that  he  is 
delaying  his  departure  by  one  day  on  my  account. 
The  chances  are  very  good  of  my  doing  the  trick 
successfully  on  the  next  trial,  and  it  would  be  more 
satisfactory  to  succeed. 

I  guess  this  posts  about  all  information  to  date. 

Lots  of  love, 

Ben. 

On  the  day  following  this  letter,  May  2d,  after  only 
twelve  days  of  training,  Ben  passed  successfully  all 
tests  required  to  secure  Aero  Club  license  and  a 
diploma  from  the  Curtiss  School. 

On  Board  B.  &  O.  Express, 
Due  Philadelphia  8  p.  m. 
Tuesday,  JMay  8,   1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  will  confirm  day-letter  to 
Daddy  with  results  to  date. 

On  arrival  at  Washington  yesterday.  Jus  and  I 
went  to  New  Willard,  lunched  and  left  our  baggage. 
Went  at  once  to  the  Capitol  buildings,  and  found 
Senator  Fletcher  to  be  in  closed  session.  Went  to 
Army  and  Navy  buildings — Admiral  Usher  in  New 
York.  Lieutenant  Tower's  office  next  door,  however. 
Had  a  comprehensive  discussion  with  him  and  Lieu- 
tenant (j.g.)  Chevalier,  in  which  Jus  also  took  part. 
Decided  to  take  the  exam,  this  morning.  Saw  Senator 
Fletcher  at  5.30 — most  cordial.  I  had  already  ex- 
changed his  Signal  Corps  letter  for  one  to  N.R.F.C. 

[69] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

authorities,  also  signed  by  the  Secretary.     Jus  made 
an  appointment  for  10  a.  m.  to-day. 

Went  to  9th  and  Penna.  at  opposite  end  of  city 
with  Jus  this  a.  m.  Filled  out  some  papers.  He 
left  while  I  was  being  examined.  Physical  and  eye 
examinations  were  thorough.  Only  defects  were 
underweight  and  necessity  to  correct  vision.  The 
examining  surgeon  wrote  "good  physique"  on  the 
application,  and  with  a  statement  of  my  progress  in 
aviation,  carried  me  through  O.K.  through  the  four 
counter  signatures  necessary,  including  the  Surgeon 
General  in  the  Navy  building  to  whom  I  had  to 
take  it. 

In  a  week  or  ten  days  I  will  be  wired  to  report  at 
Newport  News.  A  few  months'  training  on  pontoon 
machines,  plus  the  mechanical  and  theory  of  naviga- 
tion studied,  should  fit  me  for  commission  as  Ensign, 
base  pay  $1700  a  year,  and  I  suppose  equivalent  to 
second  Lieutenant  in  Army.  Training  will  continue, 
however. 

My  application  to  Towers  would  not  he  considered 
had  I  not  had  training.  They  want  partly  trained 
men,  but  can  not  as  yet  afford  to  teach  from  raw 
material.  The  men  now  in  work  have  secured  part 
of  their  preliminary  training  themselves.  Prospects 
are  for  a  good  bunch  of  fellows. 

This  afternoon  I  returned  to  enlistment  point  and 
was  sworn  in  as  Seaman,  2d  class.  Took  B.  &  O.  so 
as  to  arrive  in  Philadelphia  in  time  for  Fraternity 
meeting.     Will  mail  this  on  arrival. 

Oodles  of  love, 

Ben. 

[70] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

After  many  delays  and  disappointments  and  a 
second  visit  to  Washington  to  locate  lost  orders, 
they  were  finally  received  on  Monday,  June  4,  1917, 
and  Ben  left  that  night  for  Newport  News,  Virginia. 

Newport  News,  Va., 
June  8,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Received  a  nice  note  from 
Lieutenant  Johnson,  as  forwarded  by  you,  apologiz- 
ing for  the  various  delays,  and  hoping  that  I  was 
here  at  last.  .  .  . 

The  boys  in  tents  have  offered  me  accommodations 
which  I  will  look  over  to-morrow  noon.  They  have 
breakfast  and  lunch  at  the  same  restaurant  that  we 
all  do,  right  by  the  field  at  boat  harbor.  Then  after 
flying,  come  on  to  the  hotel  (two  miles  by  trolley), 
and  have  a  room  and  bath  where  they  can  clean  up. 
Practically  every  one  has  supper  here,  so  as  to  have 
a  square,  hearty  meal.  .  .  . 

This  is  a  mighty  congenial  bunch,  by  and  large. 
There  are  more  fellows  of  interest  to  me  in  the  fifteen 
Navy  students  than  in  the  forty-five  Army  students 
at  Miami. 

"Jack"  Geary  turns  out  to  have  been  in  the  second 
form  at  Chestnut  Hill  Academy  my  first  year  in  the 
fourth;  he  then  went  to  Groton  and  Harvard.  There 
are  at  least  ten  Harvard  fellows  and  one  Tech  non- 
graduate.  Rather  much  Bostonese  and  "old  chappy" 
stuff,  but  that  one  can  get  used  to.  It  is  amusing 
for  a  while.  They  were  "at  Cambridge,"  as  they  say, 
rather  than  Harvard.  Don't  know  why,  unless  it 
sounds   rather   English.      Geary  knows   lots   of   Phi 

[71] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Kaps  and  other  University  fellows  I  know,  having 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  Philadelphia. 

Went  to  the  movies  earlier  in  the  evening  with 
Wetherald,  after  doing  a  little  room  hunting  unsuc- 
cessfully. 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Newport  News,  VaIJ* 

June  10,  1917. 

3j  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yesterday  was  very  productive 
of  mail,-  bringing  a  letter  each  from  Jus  and  Daddy 
and  two  from  you.  I  received  a  notice  of  registered 
package  but  have  not  been  able  to  secure  same  as 
yet  from  post-office.  This  is  undoubtedly  my  Aero 
Club  license. 

Work  was  as  usual  yesterday.  It  was  hot  and 
close  again,  so  not  much  was  accomplished.  The  new 
boat  should  be  ready  for  trials  to-morrow.  The 
Miami  boat  was  tried  out  and  performed  O.K.  In 
the  afternoon  I  helped  load  the  speed  scout  that  the 
Englishman  broke  up  into  an  express  car.  Also  an 
R-6  type  pontoon  machine  which  is  sent  back  to  the 
factory  to  serve  as  model  for  fifty  that  have  been 
ordered  by  the  government.  Some  of  these  should 
be  ready  for  shipment  in  less  than  a  month,  so  per- 
haps we  will  get  the  use  of  a  couple  or  more  here. 

I  inspected  the  tents  to  which  I  was  invited  yes- 
terday. Was  not  very  favorably  impressed  by  the 
surroundings  or  care  of  the  outfit.     If  I  camped  out 

[72] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

would  want  to  secure  one  of  the  tents  and  move  off 
to  a  location  of  my  own  choosing.  But  I  think  a 
good  room  will  fill  the  bill  better  and  not  cost  very 
much.  Will  stay  as  is  for  a  few  days  and  try  to 
locate  a  very  desirable  room  for  permanent  quarters. 
One  of  the  boys  got  a  nice  one  for  two  dollars  a  week. 
My  approximate  schedule  so  far  has  been  as  fol- 
lows : 

6  A.  M.  Wakened  by  "bugle  calls  and  war  songs"  from 
encampment  of  N.  G.  near  by. 

7  A.  M.    Steam  siren.     Rise.     Catch  7.30  car  or  auto. 
7.40.     Breakfast,  "Boat  Harbor  Lunch  Room."     Straw- 
berries, two  shredded  wheat  and  milk. 

8.  Muster,  or  roll-call.     Fall  out  for  work  of  the  day.  ^ 

12  M.  Lunch,  "B.  H.  L.  R."  Iced  tea,  something  sub- 
stantial, and  pie  or  ice-cream. 

1  p.  M.  to  between  4  and  5  p.  m.  Afternoon's  work. 
Shower  at  hotel. 

6.30  p.  M.  Supper  with  four  or  five  others.  Write,  or 
movies,  or  study. 

9.30 — 10.30 — 11.     Hit  the  hay. 

When  we  get  down  to  real  work  and  get  in  some 
flying,  which  is  likely  to  be  quite  soon,  our  schedule 
will  stiffen  up.  We  will  also  undoubtedly  start  in 
with  drill  and  instruction  this  week,  as  the  work  on 
the  boat  is  finished.  The  trigonometry  I  mentioned 
was  in  connection  with  velocities  and  air  pressure, 
and  angles  of  incidence,  etc.  The  drill  will  be  regu- 
lation infantry  work,  up  to  a  certain  point.  My 
drilling  at  the  University  will  probably  prevent  my 
being  much  behind  the  others  here.  I  would  like 
to  get  the  Ledger,  either  remailed  or  sent  direct, 
whichever  is  convenient. 

[78] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

Rain  all  day,  and  nothing  else  to  do  anyway, 
enabled  me  to  finish  up  work  as  per  carbons  mailed 
you. 

Pay  will  be  almost  $20  a  month,  plus  subsistence 
of  $1.25  a  day.  The  two  should  keep  me  well  fed,  and 
car  fares  and  sundries  to  spare. 

I  had  better  have  riding  breeches  and  puttees  after 
a  while,  but  no  necessity  to  send  them  for  a  few  days, 
so  that  they  can  go  direct  to  new  address  when  I 
move. 

Hope  this  will  reach  Germantown  in  time  to  carry 
my  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

,  Newport  News,  Va., 

Thursday,  June  21,  1917. 
5.30  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  note  should  await  you  in 
Boston  as  I  will  mail  it  this  evening  at  supper  time. 
Am  enclosing  carbon  of  a  list  asked  for  by  Daddy. 
Notes  from  him  and  Jus,  to-day,  report  all  O.K.  in 
Jacksonville.  Daddy  is  expressing  me  a  box  of 
oranges ! 

Please  acknowledge  to  Mrs.  Angas  for  me  the 
receipt  of  another  dandy  pair  of  socks.  It  was  so 
cold  the  night  they  arrived  that  I  slipped  them  right 
into  service  as  bed  socks.  That  temperature  did  not 
last  however,  as  the  last  two  days  have  been  corkers. 
Am  all  but  blistered  from  drilling  in  the  sun  morning 
and  afternoon.  Now  it  is  pouring.  A  much-needed 
rain.     To-day  we  got  "shot  with  dope"  for  typhoid, 

[  74.  ] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

and  all  have  sore  arms.  We  shall  be  injected  twice 
again,  at  ten  days'  intervals. 

Things  have  taken  queer  turns  here  recently.  Yes- 
terday we  learned,  that  the  Navy  boat,  which  had  even 
been  marked  with  our  insignia,  on  wings  and  tail,  was 
not  to  be  ours  after  all!  So  the  prospect  of  practical 
work  dwindled  rapidly. 

I  decided  to  take  a  crack  at  the  land  flying,  just 
to  keep  my  hand  in,  and  see  if  I  was  forgetting 
much.  Due  to  having  had  time  at  Miami,  but  not 
the  full  400  minutes,  I  was  able  to  obtain  the  old 
rate  of  $1.00  instead  of  $1.50  as  in  force  since  June  1. 
Rose  at  3.30  this  morning,  and  met  Carl  Carlstrom 
at  the  Plaza  Restaurant,  where  his  class  gathers.  It 
was  about  5.30  when  my  turn  came  however.  I  had 
a  great  ride  for  sixteen  minutes.  After  the  first  time 
around  he  let  me  handle  the  machine,  and  I  tried 
six  landings,  improving  a  little  each  time.  Everything 
went  finely  and  now  I  am  satisfied  that,  like  swim- 
ming, flying  doesn't  forget  itself.  The  light,  power- 
ful tractor  machine  handled  more  easily  than  the 
boat,  and  but  for  a  slight  difference  in  the  controls, 
and  learning  to  land  on  a  different  medium,  I  had 
no  trouble  at  all.     It  was  great  to  get  up  again! 

To-day  a  well-substantiated  report  got  about  that 
the  Navy  was  to  take  over  this  school,  bag  and  bag- 
gage, from  A  to  Z.  This  came  from  Lieutenant 
Towers  in  Washington,  through  Jack  Geary;  also 
they  ceased  all  instruction  to  civilians  at  noon  to-day. 
The  Curtiss  Co.  wants  to  get  back  Harold  Kantner, 
but  I  doubt  if  they  can  now. 

If  the  above  takes  place  the  school  can  be  devoted 

[75] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

entirely  to  N.R.F.C.  work  and  our  personnel  ex- 
panded slightly.  Also  it  is  possible  that  the  very 
wise  move  will  be  made  of  giving  us  all  several  horn's 
of  instruction  on  the  Curtiss  JN.  land  machines. 
This  would  please  everybody.  It  is  wise,  because  in 
actual  conditions  at  the  front  the  Navy  fliers  are 
frequently  detailed  for  land  instruction  or  work  at 
the  front.  This  would  also  permit  of  making  a  start 
at  once  in  flying,  instead  of  having  to  wait  additional 
indefinite  time  for  the  pontoon  machines. 

Because  of  the  likelihood  of  our  getting  this  land 
instruction  I  am  not  going  to  take  any  more  at  my 
expense.  Also  because  of  the  prohibitive  cost  of  same 
to  yours  truly.  If  it  were  definitely  known  that  we 
were  not  to  receive  any  land  instruction  whatsoever, 
I  would  consider  it  well  worth  while  and  very  im- 
portant to  take  at  least  fifty  to  one  hundred  minutes 
at  own  expense.  When  going  to  the  front  one  can  never 
tell  what  will  come  up.  I  might  have  a  chance  to  escape 
from  Germany  if  I  could  fly  a  land  machine  well ! 

Be  sure  to  let  me  know  what  Mack  Angas  is  going 
to  do.  Am  anxious  to  know  whether  he  is  coming 
down  here.  With  prospects  of  more  equipment  this 
place  becomes  more  attractive.  Under  any  circum- 
stances, as  Ensign  Fallon  remarked,  we  are  each  one 
of  the  twenty  luckiest  fellows  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  and 
there  are  hundreds  who  would  give  anything  for  our 
places. 

Best  wishes  to  all  in  the  motor  party,  and  hope 
you  have  regular  Camden  weather. 

Lots  of  love, 

Ben. 

[76] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

PERSONNEL^  OF  NAVAL  RESERVE  FLYING  CORPS 

Newport  News  Division 

June  21,  1917. 

Lieutenant  (j.g.)  H.  B.  Cecil,  Commanding  Officer. 

Ensign  William  B.  Atwater,  New  York;  40;  married;  experience, 
since  1911,  a  land  flier,  exhibition  work. 

Ensign  Nugent  Fallon,  Boston;  30;  Boston  Tech;  chemical  busi- 
ness; about  500  both  land  and  boat;  traveled  everywhere; 
attractive. 

Ensign  "Jack"  Geary,  Jr.,  Philadelphia;  20;  Harvard  Fresh.;  just 
married  Bessie  Wister;  400  minutes  on  boat  at  Essington;  fine 
fellow. 

"Seamen,  Second  Class."     {In  order  of  arrival  here) 

C.  Halloway,  Baltimore;  24;  land  license  obtained  here. 
Westmore  Willcox,  Boston;  23;  Harvard;  boat  license;  fast  quarter 

miler;  fine  fellow. 
Moseley  Taylor,  — ;  24;  Harvard;  land  and  boat;  grandson 

General  Taylor;  football  player;  fine  fellow. 
Goodhue  Livingston,  Jr.;  20;  Harvard  Fresh.;  land;  from  New 

York ;  my  roommate ;  fine  fellow. 
James  Hutchins,  Boston;  Harvard;  boat;  has  been  sick;  fine  fellow. 
James  Warburg,  Chicago;  Harvard;  boat;  son  of  Paul  Warburg, 

banker;  fine  fellow. 
Charles  Fuller,  Boston;  22;  Harvard  Soph.;  land  and  boat;  athletic; 

fine  fellow. 
Royal  W.  Wetherald,  Boston;  25;  Tech  two  years;  land  and  boat; 

sporty;  nice  chap. 
Cecil  (Mike)  Murray,  Boston;  19;  Harvard;  land  and  boat;  very 

nice. 
Mark  Walton,  Boston;  23;  Harvard;  land  and  boat;  O.K. 
Richard  Townsend,  Boston;   27;  Harvard  grad. ;  land   and  boat; 

married;  Stutz. 
James  Finnegan,  New  York;  25;  secretarial  experience  only;  son 

of  New  York  politician ;  very  amusing. 
Emory  Stone,  Pittsburg;  24;  has  made  many  trips  with  cavalry 

"remount  boats" ;  fine  fellow. 
Lyman  Peck,  Pittsburg;  26;  boat  experience;  has  traveled  in  Brazil, 

etc.;  good  scout. 

^  A  list  enclosed  in  the  preceding  letter. 

[77] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d,  Philadelphia;  22;  boat;  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Robert  Stocker,  New  York;  18;  at  St.  Paul's,  Garden  City;  son  of 
captain  in  the  Navy ;  no  experience. 

John  Foster,  Georgia;  21;  college  course;  no  experience;  a  good 
Georgia  Cracker. 

Instructors 

William  B.  Atwater,  see  above,  is  acquiring  experience  in  boat  work, 

and  should  pick  up  pontoon  work  fast  later. 
Dore  Hequembourg,  experienced  on  boat  work.  A  Curtiss  instructor. 

Comments  above,  "land  and  water"  means  usually  about  from 
200  to  400  minutes  of  each. 

Newport  News,  Va., 
June  28,  1917. 
2.30  p.  M. 

Deabest  Mother:  I  am  sitting  on  the  porch  of 
the  office  at  the  field,  looking  out  over  the  water  and 
stopping  all  the  breeze  in  reach,  which  is  none  too 
much.  Dropped  a  line  in  care  of  General  Delivery, 
Portland,  but  am  doubtful  whether  it  will  reach  you. 
At  any  rate,  this  letter,  if  sent  by  the  through  train, 
should  reach  Blueberry  Farm  by  Tuesday  morning 
at  the  latest. 

At  last  things  seem  to  be  straightening  out  here. 
Yesterday  a  mosquito  fleet  boat  (size  of  Robin  Hood 
with  crew  of  three)  was  sent  to  tug  us  in  if  our 
motor  fails,  "somewhere  in  America,"  out  on  the  bay. 
The  boat's  old  owner  is  captain,  and  he  has  enlisted 
friends  for  crew.  They  are  out  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  now,  at  anchor. 

To-day  we  were  ordered  in  from  morning  drill  and 
told  we  were  each  to  get  a  flight  in  the  boat.     So 

[78] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

far  six  fellows  have  been  up.  We  go  in  order  of 
arrival  here,  temporarily.  The  idea  is  that  we  are 
now  in  active  flying  duty,  and  that  50  per  cent,  in- 
crease in  pay  begins  to-day. 

Lieutenant  Cecil  told  us  that  the  school  was  really 
being  taken  over  for  us,  and  that  we  would  all  get 
land  flying  at  once,  and  pontoon  (hydro)  when  the 
N-9's  come.  The  new  boat  will  be  used  now  also. 
This  is  great,  and  promises  well  for  going  right  ahead 
at  a  reasonable  pace  for  progress. 

Being  far  down  on  the  list,  I'll  either  get  up  late 
this  afternoon  or  Monday,  likely  the  latter. 

Yesterday  we  got  paid  and  I  received  $25  cash, 
which  represented  pay  and  subsistence  for  eleven  or 
twelve  days    (5th  to  16th  inclusive,  I  think). 

We  have  all  recovered  from  the  effects  of  our 
typhoid  inoculation.  Most  of  us  simply  had  sore 
arms,  being  in  excellent  condition,  due  to  drill  and 
Swedish  exercise. 

Weather  continues  hot  but  clear.  By  keeping  out 
of  sun,  except  when  drilling,  it  is  all  right.  I  drill 
stripped  to  the  waist  usually  in  the  morning  and  with 
a  shirt  in  the  afternoon,  so  have  managed  so  far  to 
pick  up  a  good  protective  coat  without  getting  pain- 
fully burned. 

Have  just  finished  a  long  letter  to  Daddy  with  all 
good  news  to  date.  Hope  Jus  comes  North,  arriving 
Washington  on  Sunday,  as  I  could  spend  any  Sun- 
day there  and  would  certainly  like  to  see  them  all,  if 
only  between  breakfast  and  lunch  time.  Boat  leaves 
Old  Point  Comfort  Saturday  night,  arriving  Wash- 
ington   7    A.  M.,    Sunday,    and    returns    on    similar 

[79] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

schedule.     Of  course   I  couldn't  make  it   any  other 
day. 

A  long  letter  from  Mack,  received  yesterday, 
advised  me  fully  of  his  plans:  Engineers  Corps. 

The  flying  boat  has  not  been  out  since  lunch,  and 
I  presume  there  is  adjustment  necessary  on  the 
motor.  They  are  not  dependable  until  lots  of  little 
things  have  gone  wrong  and  been  fixed,  and  have 
operated  a  couple  of  hours  continuously  at  least. 
Guess  I  won't  get  up  imtil  Monday.  It  doesn't 
matter  much  anyway.  Everybody  is  happy  now — 
you  can't  make  us  mad! 

Time  has  certainly  flown  here.  Love  to  all  in 
Camden,  and  oodles  for  Ma  Velvet. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

CuRTiss  School,  Newport  News,  Va., 

Monday,  July  2,  1917. 

10   p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  last  Thiirsday  brought 
out  by  the  Lieutenant  this  morning.  Glad  things  are 
going  so  nicely  in  Camden.  Prospects  are  looking 
up  daily  here  also. 

A  few  days  ago  Lieutenant  Cecil  read  a  letter 
from  Washington  censuring  any  attempts  at  advance- 
ment via  political  or  other  pull,  and  stating  that  let- 
ters received  by  the  department  at  Washington, 
recommending  reservists  for  advancement,  would  be 
forwarded  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  said  reservist. 
Also,  that  note  would  be  made  on  his  record  of  same, 
and  that  repetition  of  "offense"  would  be  cause  for 

[80] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

disciplinary  measures.  Having  read  the  letter  he 
said,  "And  I  have  a  letter  here  referring  to  you, 
Lee." 

Afterwards  he  showed  me  a  (very  proper,  I 
thought)  letter  from  Senator  Fletcher  to  Lieutenant 
Towers.  Of  course  I  explained  that  I  was  not 
directly  responsible,  and  would  make  every  attempt 
to  see  that  it  didn't  happen  again.  I  sent  a  copy  of 
the  general  letter  to  Daddy.  .  .  . 

It  means  that  a  strict  policy  of  non-intervention 
will  have  to  be  adhered  to,  whether  I  am  sent  to 
Madagascar  or  Mons,  with  or  without  a  commission. 
If  I  should  be  ordered  aboard  ship  by  Lieutenant 
Cecil  or  his  superior,  in  Washington,  would  feel  that 
it  was  the  way  in  which  they  wanted  me  to  serve, 
and  therefore  the  best  for  the  Navy!  Of  course, 
nothing  radical  is  likely  to  occur,  but  if  anything 
should,  remember  that  interference  is  risky  business, 
unless  conducted  by  an  expert,  and  is  likely  to  react 
on  the  intended  beneficiary. 

Probably  most  of  the  thousands  of  reservists  in 
the  Navy  have  some  one  interested  and  taking  trouble 
about  them.  Result,  a  flood  of  inquiries,  requests, 
etc.,  from  people  of  such  status,  that  they  must  be 
answered.     That  is  Lieutenant  Cecil's  explanation. 

.  .  .  Sunday  we  trolleyed  to  Virginia  Beach,  which 
was  superior  to  Ocean  View — better  surf,  beach,  people, 
less  crowded. 

Had  a  bully  swim,  as  weather  was  top  Camdenish 
for  August.  Adjourned  to  Monticello  and  had 
dinner.  .  .  . 

There    are    1400    N.R.F.C.    men    on    the    lists    at 

[81] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Washington  waiting  to  be  detailed  active  duty  here 
and  elsewhere.  No  doubt  their  fond  parents  and 
friends  are  among  those  causing  trouble  by  solicitude. 

Perhaps  some  of  us  will  be  detailed  to  instruct  the 
above,  when  we  have  had  all  the  training.  If  appli- 
cations for  this  service  are  in  order,  and  other  things 
favorable,  I'll  apply  for  it  at  the  proper  time.  If 
any  one  writes  to  Washington  about  it  I'll  probably 
be  court  martialled  and  shot  at  sunrise  daily. 

Am  in  "Dore"  (Theodore)  Hequembourg's  class 
of  seven  on  the  new  Navy  boat.  This  is  what  I 
really  prefer  at  present.  The  list  of  fourteen  was 
simply  cut  in  two,  and  I  happened  to  be  in  the  upper 
half  (last  one!).  .  . 

The  details  of  our  course  were  read  to  us  on 
Friday,  but  not  yet  posted,  so  I  cannot  give  an 
accurate   summary. 

We  are  each  to  do  600  minutes  of  solo,  mostly  on 
land  and  N-9,  if  the  latter  show  up.  Of  course  that 
means  for  me  probably  50  or  100  more  on  the  boat 
first,  and  150  at  least  on  land,  and  50  or  100  on  N-9, 
so  it  will  mean  a  general  total  of  1200  to  1500  done, 
all  told  before  obtaining  provisional  rating  as  ensign. 
Also  tests  for  duration,  altitude,  rough  weather,  navi- 
gation and  accuracy,  taken  in  any  of  the  machines, 
and  examinations  in  assembling,  and  care  of,  and 
dissembling  engines,  planes,  theory  of  flight  and 
navigation,  and  drilling  the  section  or  squads  of 
students.  If  there  is  anything  you  think  of  I  haven't 
mentioned,  that  is  included  also.  We  have  lots  of 
work  cut  out  for  us.  You  may  rest  assured  that  the 
course  is  to  be  most  thorough  and  quite  slowly  taken. 

[82] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

Having  finished  here  and  secured  rating  of  provisional 
ensign,  we  will  go  to  Jamestown,  Pensacola,  or  some 
other  point  for  instruction  in  more  advanced  flying, 
and  on  more  practical  types  of  machines  for  fighting 
purposes. 

We  don't  now  expect  to  see  the  front  before  next 
spring's  drive,  though  a  few  months  in  winter  might 
be  put  in,  in  France,  on  finishing  work. 

May  take  a  sail  on  the  4th,  as  we  all  expect  a 
holiday.  Hope  the  boys  in  Camden  get  time  enough 
off  from  farming  to  keep  some  of  our  equipment  in 
proper  shape  by  giving  the  usual  attention,  and  to 
use  same  later.  I  would  rather  have  my  "pets"  used 
to  any  extent  than  not  at  all.  If  I  get  a  week  off, 
you  know  where  I'll  be! 

Love  to  all, 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Newport  News,  Va., 
July  20,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  At  last,  two  eventful  days  in 
quick  succession!  Yesterday  solo  work  began.  No- 
body soloed.  Two  boats  were  put  out  of  commission. 
To-day,  four  of  us  got  into  action,  and  no  damage 
was  done. 

Having  been  the  principal  actor,  in  fact  the  goat, 
in  yesterday's  little  "escapincident,"  perhaps  it  didn't 
seem  so  funny  to  me,  but  all  I  know  is  that  the 
shores  seemed  lined  with  seamen,  second  class,  con- 
vulsed with  laughter.  .  .  . 

For  the  time  being,  solo  work  is  to  be  done  on  the 

[88] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

Miami  boat,  so  yesterday  morning  it  was  trotted  out 
on  its  little  wheeled  truck,  and  left  at  the  top  of  the 
runway,  to  be  warmed  up  and  made  ready  for  action. 
This  I  was  told  to  do.  Working  with  me  was  the 
"captain"  of  the  crew  in  charge  of  that  boat.  To 
make  a  long  story  short,  when  I  cranked  the  motor 
over,  it  started  with  a  rush  that  carried  the  boat  down 
the  runway,  crushing  the  horse  placed  in  front  to 
guard  against  said  contingency,  and  then  tearing 
down  on  to  the  water.  Lamke,  the  man  with  me, 
was  frantically  steering  to  the  left.  You  see,  the 
interesting  part  was  that  another  machine  was  just 
coming  up  to  the  end  of  the  self -same  slip,  with  one 
of  the  fellows  in  front  of  it  in  the  water,  helping 
guide  it  in.  This  chap,  Finnegan  by  name,  cast  a 
desperate  hunted  glance  our  way,  and  attempted  to 
flop  to  safety,  only  too  late.  "At  this  point  our  hero, 
bringing  all  faculties  to  bear  upon  the  problem, 
quickly  switched  off  the  motor,  thus  saving  two 
machines  from  wreck,  and  countless  lives." 

The  total  damage  amounted  to  an  afternoon's  work 
repairing  sprung  planking  on  bottom  of  Miami  boat, 
due  to  removing  from  the  truck  in  an  unusual  manner, 
as  it  is  an  arduous  job  for  nine  athletic  young  men 
under  ordinary  circumstances.  Fortunately  for  me 
it  was  quite  the  "captain's"  fault  for  allowing  me  to 
start  the  motor  with  the  throttle  wide  open,  in  as 
much  as  it  is  the  only  one  of  the  boats  on  which  said 
condition  occurs  when  it  is  apparently  closed. 

The  other  damage  merely  consisted  of  a  broken  or, 
rather,  split  rudder  on  the  new  Navy  boat.  Under 
orders  I  spent  two  hours  yesterday  taking  it  off  and 

[84] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

putting  on  a  substitute.  To-day  I  spent  two  hours 
taking  off  the  substitute  and  putting  back  the  repaired 
rudder,  Dore  having  said  in  the  meantime  that  he 
would  not  use  the  boat  until  re-equipped  with  its  own 
rudder.  .  .  . 

This  afternoon  Mike  Murray  soloed,  also  Chas. 
Fuller  from  our  class,  and  Mose  Taylor  from  the 
other.  All  went  well  in  every  case.  Charley  stayed 
out  about  fifteen  minutes  and  had  a  regular  joy  ride, 
for  which  reprimanded,  as  the  idea  was  for  as  many 
as  possible  to  get  a  short  ride.  A  little  later  the 
usual  rain  set  in,  so  we  adjourned  to  a  first-aid  lecture 
by  the  doctor.  There  are  about  three  more  fellows 
now  ready  to  solo,  and  all  will  be  within  a  short  time. 
My  total  air  time,  including  Miami,  is  now  593 
minutes.  This  also  includes  my  time  on  land  machine 
with   Carl   Carlstrom. 

Now  it  is  about  the  end  of  a  perfect  day,  with  the 
limpid  drip  of  rain  to  lull  me  to  sleep,  punctuated 
by  the  swats  and  exclamations  of  Jack  Mabbitt,  who 
is  on  a  raging  mosquito  hunt. 

Two  of  the  best  of  enlisted  men  (including  Captain 
of  our  crew)  were  sent  to  Boston  Tech  to-day  for 
Navy  course  similar  to  Army. 

Will  mail  this  first  thing  in  the  morning,,  not  having 
written  yesterday  or  to-day. 

Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


[85] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

Newport  News,  Va., 
August  7,   1917. 

11    A.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Being  timekeeper  I  only  have 
to  sit  quietly  on  the  porch,  in  the  shade,  and  put 
down  the  time  up,  down,  and  elapsed,  each  flight 
made  by  three  machines  in  action. 

Roy  is  here  in  his  bathing  suit,  worrying  about  how 
soon  he  can  finish  on  the  boat.  Charley  Fuller  is 
getting  a  lecture  on  caution  from  Dore.  Two  men 
are  soloing,  and  a  third  just  going  out  in  the  big  R-6 
pontoon  machine. 

Guard  duty  was  not  bad  this  morning  and  I  do 
not  yet  feel  tired.  This  morning  I  was  lucky.  The 
Naval  Academy  School  ship  Kearsage  is  in  the  har- 
bor, and  Lieutenant-Commander  Ellyson  brought 
over  ten  Ist-class  men  and  twenty  2d-class  men  to 
look  around  the  school,  they  (Ist-class  men)  being 
especially  interested  in  aviation.  I  was  detailed  to 
give  them  a  hop  each  in  the  Miami  boat.  This  was 
great  fun  and  wonderful  practice,  for  it  meant  mak- 
ing short  flights  and  ten  landings.  ^ 

The  hops  averaged  from  three  to  six  minutes,  total- 
ling forty-six  minutes  of  flying,  which  it  took  an 
hour  and  twenty  minutes  to  do.  The  fellows  were  all 
keen  about  it,  and  some  took  hold  very  quickly  when 
I  gave  them  the  controls  for  a  couple  of  minutes.  As 
the  water  was  fairly  rough  on  the  get-aways,  this  made 
it  additionally  worth  while.  Lieutenant-Commander 
Ellyson  thanked  me  personally  (I  felt  like  thanking 
him!),  and  one  of  the  fellows  insisted  on  kodaking 

[86] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

me.     Great  excitement  for  yours  truly,  but  the  usual 
calm  exterior.  .  .  . 

Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Newport  News,  Va., 
Thursday,  August  6,  1917. 
9   p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  letters  of  Sunday  and 
Monday  at  hand,  also  Outlooks  from  Nana,  for  which 
thanks. 

Things  have  been  interesting  the  past  few  days. 
Monday  I  took  a  fifteen-minute  ride  with  Stinson, 
as  it  seemed  a  pity  to  leave  without  having  had  the 
experience.  He  let  me  drive  the  land  machine  to  an 
altitude  of  3,500  feet.  Then  he  put  it  through  the 
following: 

Stall,  motor  on.  Stall,  motor  off.  Side  slip.  Two 
loops.  Tail  spin.  Spirals  to  500-foot  level.  Of 
these,  the  stall  was  most  strain  on  one's  solar  plexus. 
As  you  may  remember  the  diagram  in  book  sent  down 
here,  "Theta"  showed  how  the  machine  is  put  straight 
up  and  then  drops,  as  if  pivoting  on  the  tail.  The 
drop  is  the  thing. 

To-day  I  was  waterman,  but  flew  first  for  fifty-four 
minutes,  staying  out  sufficiently  overtime  to  get  Dore 
peeved.  After  much  effort,  Charley  Fuller  and  I 
have  at  last  gotten  transferred  to  the  N-9  pontoon 
machine,  and  hope  to  get  some  instruction  on  same 
from  Carl  Batts  to-morrow. 

With  the  proposed  shift  in  mind,  I  made  my  last 

[87] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

boat  flight  a  good  one,  and  did  some  short  turns  and 
spirals,  a  la  Kantner,  that  were  rather  new  to  these 
parts.  I  should  not  instruct  a  primary  pupil  in  short 
turns,  but  it  is  well  to  know  how  to  make  them  so 
as  to  get  out  of  a  corner,  perhaps.  ... 

We  may  move  Monday  to  Jamestown,  everything 
permitting.  Our  new  quarters  are  being  prepared 
and  runways  laid  for  boats. 

Paul  Wagner  writes  that  he  plans  to  go  to  Fort 
Oglethorpe,  Ga.,  August  23. 

Guard  duty  very  tiresome  last  night,  so  will  make 
up,  beginning  soon. 

Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Brother 

Newport  News,  Va., 

Saturday,  August  18,  1917. 

9  p.  M. 

Dear  Jus:  Glad  to  get  your  letter  from  Cam- 
den. Congratulations  on  Lieutenant  (j.g.)  U.S.N.R. 
That  is  certainly  fine  and  dandy.  Your  wire  not 
received  as  yet,  which  explains  delay  in  my  appraisal 
of  great  news. 

Hope  to  see  you  here,  or  Jamestown,  at  your  con- 
venience. You  could  pick  up  a  little  advance  dope 
on  planes  in  a  few  hours'  stay. 

Have  been  assigned  to  the  R-6  twin  pontoon  200- 
horse  plane  since  yesterday.  Had  two  flights  yester- 
day, forty-five  to  fifty  minutes,  and  thirty-one  to- 
day. .  .  . 

[88  1 


Training  at  Newport  News 

At  roll  call  we  were  asked  to  specify  whether  we 
would  be  willing  to  act  as  instructors  if  requested 
to  do  so.  About  nine,  including  all  the  best  fliers, 
said  that  they  would,  so  Jamestown  may  see  us  for 
quite  a  while,  each  with  a  class  of  N.R.F.C.  neophytes 
to  handle.  .  .  . 

We  should  be  commissioned  by  September  1,  and 
get  ten  days  perhaps  soon  after.  Afraid  the  prob- 
lematical vacation  will  come  after  you  are  hard  at 
it  again,  so  I  hope  you  can  stop  over  on  *way  up. 
Will  wire  if  we  shift  to  Jamestown  during  the  week. 

Am  certainly  tickled  that  you  found  such  happy 
solution  of  difficulties.  Washington  is  certainly  our 
panacea. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

'  Newport  News,  Va., 

Tuesday,  August  21,  1917. 
8   p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  I  will  send  box  by  express 
when  I  can.  Will  also  send  a  propeller  by  freight 
to  Haverford  College  to  await  Phil.  A  notice  was 
read  a  few  days  ago  authorizing  Commandants  of 
districts  to  release  all  college  students  under  twenty- 
one,  September  15,  as  their  studies  are  preferably 
not  to  be  interrupted.  They  would,  of  course,  be 
subject  to  call  later. 

Wrote  congratulations  to  Jus  in  Jax.  His  wire 
never  showed  up.  .  .  . 

[89] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

One  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  such  an  un- 
pleasant proposition  as  war  comes  into  play  when 
conditions  make  it  possible  to  write  for  something 
and  have  it  arrive  without  even  having  to  think  about 
it  again.  This  sounds  spoiled,  perhaps,  but  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  we  are  frequently  so  tired,  dirty,  and 
out  of  sorts  at  night,  that  getting  supper  is  almost 
too  much  trouble,  not  to  mention  sitting  down  and 
studying  or  thinking  logically.  For  instance:  Up  at 
6  A.  M.  this  morning.  Pushed  and  tugged  machines 
from  7  to  8.  Breakfasted,  hauled  boxes  to  a  boat 
for  two  hours,  alternating  with  hoisting  3,500  lb. 
machines  in  and  out  of  water,  ditto  this  afternoon. 
Unable  to  fly  due  to  inability  of  instructor  to  get 
N-9  off  the  water  and  lack  of  permission  to  solo  until 
above  instruction  trip  is  made.  Lunched  at  1.15. 
Helped  set  up  another  machine,  etc.  Put  last  ma- 
chine away  at  6.30.  Went  to  supper,  dirty,  at  7, 
with  Roy  Wetherald,  as  he  had  to  go  on  watch  from 
8  to  12,  and  here  I  am  complaining  about  an  exas- 
perating pen!  .  .  . 

When  I  finish  this  epistle  I  shall  take  off  my 
trousers  and  attempt  to  wash  them,  knowing  full 
well  that  they  must  go  on  to-morrow,  in  whatever 
condition  they  may  be.  This  is  due  to  the  slowness 
of  the  unworthy  tailor  in  Norfolk  who  has  broken 
every  promise  in  his  catalog,  and  then  some.  .  .  . 

At  one  o'clock  muster  to-day  Lieutenant  Cecil 
spoke  to  us.  Said  some  would  be  needed  as  in- 
structors at  Jamestown,  and  balance  might  (probably 
would)  sail  within  a  month  for  Dimkirk,  and  further 
training   there.      This   is   unofficial,   but   there    is   no 

.    [90] 


Training  at  Newport  News 

harm  in  not  spreading  the  news.    We  don't  want  to 
be  torpedoed  on  the  way. 

I  saw  the  Lieutenant  later  and  told  him  I  was  will- 
ing to  go  or  stay,  as  he  advised.  He  said  he  would 
see  how  many  were  anxious  to  act  as  instructors  for 
a  couple  of  months  and  would  make  up  the  balance 
from  those  who  might  prefer  to  go  any  way,  and 
that  he  expected  we  would  all  be  over  in  four  or  five 
months.  So  it  didn't  make  so  much  difference.  He 
advised  me  to  sit  tight,  which  I  have  so  far.  Unless 
he  feels  that  he  wants  me  here  very  decidedly,  I 
should  certainly  prefer  to  go  now  and  get  started. 
I  think  most  of  the  live  wires  will  go.  .  .  . 

If  I  do  stay  and  instruct,  which  now  seems  unlikely, 
and  I  would  somewhat  rather  not,  it  would  almost  surely 
be  on  the  flying  boat,  as  no  one  likes  the  boats  but 
Jack  Geary  and  me.  However,  I  like  them  less  now, 
but  feel  would  be  fully  qualified  to  instruct,  begin- 
ning any  time.  This  would  be  fairly  good  experience, 
but  nothing  extra,  as  that  is  a  type  machine  not  used 
much  abroad,  and  if  I  became  soaked  in  its  ways  I 
might  have  troubles  on  other  types. 

It  will  all  come  out  in  the  wash,  and  it  is  many  a 
time  I  have  thanked  my  stars  for  a  non-worrying 
disposition.  Worry  has  almost  ruined  the  flying  of 
half  the  fellows  here,  at  one  time  or  another. 

If  I  had  two  days  with  nothing  to  do,  I  would 
write  to  every  member  of  the  family  but,  etc.,  .  .  . 
and  they  can  all  absorb  from  the  same  manuscript. 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

[91] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Newport  News,  Va., 

August  23,  1917. 

5.20  A.  M. 

Four  to  Seven  Watch 

The  lights  of  Jamestown  sparkle  near; 
The  lights  of  Old  Point  sparkle  clear; 
Our  fleet's  at  guard  between. 

Ah,  but  it'sj  wonderful  off  to  the  east 

When  dawn  breaks  through  its  dozen  beams. 

The  Roads'  dark  gray  at  break  of  day. 
Changes  to  silver  gleams. 

Ah,  but  it's  witchery  off  in  the  west. 
With  snowpeaks  and  lakes  in  the  sky — 

(If  you  would  all  get  up  at  dawn. 
You'd  see  the  same  as  I). 

This  is  a  "dawn-comes-up-like-thunder"  morning,  but  promises 
well  for  flying.  If  I  don't  get  on  to  the  job  I'm  liable  to  have 
plenty  more  of  this  four  to  seven  watch  business  so,  au  revoir,  and 
back  to  earth. — B.  L. 


Norfolk,  Va., 

September  6,  1917. 

10  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Wire  from  Daddy  should  post 
you  briefly.  The  watch  arrived  day  before  yesterday, 
and  is  a  beauty.  Many  thanks  for  it,  hope  you  will 
have  a  chance  to  see  it  soon. 

Daddy  came  to  the  field  this  morning  with  Jack 
Geary  while  I  was  doing  the  last  half  hour  of  my 
ninety-minute  test.  I  went  out  first  this  morning  in 
the  N-9  206,  and  it  was  very  rough,  with  a  fast  wind. 

[92] 


tilt 
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O 


Training  at  Norfolk 

Had  no  trouble  except  in  landing  near  the  "Maud" 
from  my  altitude  of  4,000  feet.  The  wind  held  me 
back,  so  that  I  stopped  well  short  of  the  mark,  but 
near  enough  to  be  passed  by  the  observer. 

Got  released  for  the  balance  of  the  day  and  went 
to  lunch  in  town  at  the  Monticello  with  Daddy. 
Jimmy  Warburg  let  me  take  his  sweet  Peerless 
runabout. 

Returned  to  field  at  four  and  helped  put  away  a 
couple  of  machines.  Bobby  Stocker  took  and  passed 
his  test  this  afternoon.  Every  one  came  in  town  for 
supper,  so  I  did,  too.  .  .  . 

Latest  is  that  I  shall  apply  to-morrow  for  leave, 
beginning  about  the  14th  and  lasting  long  enough  to 
go  to  Camden  and  return  to  Philadelphia  by  motor 
with  you. 

Shall  probably  not  get  conmiission  until  some  in- 
definite time,  such  as  two  weeks,^  but  there  is  nothing 
more  I  am  expected  to  do  to  obtain  it. 

Two  Sunday  letters  received  reporting  Camden 
news. 

It  is  getting  late,  and  so  will  close  with  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Ben  was  granted  ten  days'  leave,  from  September 
12th  to  23d.  He  came  directly  to  Camden,  Me.,  had  a 
happy  four  days  there,  and  motored  back  with  the 
family  as  far  as  New  York,  then  left  by  train  and 
boat  for  Norfolk. 

^  Actually  not  for  two  months ! 

[93] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Norfolk,  Va., 
September  23,  1^17. 

Deabjest  Mother:  I  have  just  sent  a  night  letter 
which  should  reach  you  with  the  meat  of  the  news 
to-morrow  morning. 

The  trip  down  was  uneventful,  but  disagreeable. 
Wakened  at  5.15;  got  on  boat  at  5A5\  breakfast  at 
6;  boat  left  QAS,  It  was  rough  coming  over  to  Old 
Point  Comfort,  and  the  boat  danced  all  over  the 
map.  I  fled  to  the  open  air  and  so  staved  off  the 
worst  danger.  Arrived  Norfolk  and  found  a  tall 
young  Ensign  in  his  "blues"  waiting  for  me.  It  was 
certainly  a  nice  surprise.  Jus  and  I  proceeded  by 
trolley,  arriving  at  the  "Gravestone"  Inn  in  time  for 
lunch.  There  he  met  most  of  the  officers  and  men. 
There  were  lots  of  strange  faces  around,  and  many 
things  to  discuss. 

Lieutenant  McDonnell,  whom  I  saw  in  Miami,  and 
who  was  in  charge  at  Palm  Beach,  then  Huntington, 
will  take  charge  here  very  shortly.  Every  one  is 
pleased. 

With  the  advent  of  twenty  from  Tech  matters  of 
organization  have  been  rearranged.  The  three  Ensigns 
(Geary,  Fallon,  Atwater)  have  supervisory  charge 
of  administration,  repairs,  and  flying  respectively. 
McLeish  (who  didn't  get  to  France  after  all)  and 
Read  are  instructing.  Murray,  Townsend,  Walton 
have  in  rotation  the  duties  of  officer  of  the  day.  Self, 
Stocker,  and  Taylor  are  substitutes  or  understudies 
for  same.  That  puts  me  in  what  is  at  present,  or 
appears  to  be,  a  soft  job,  but  may  have  to  alternate 
regularly  with  Murray,  which  would  make  it  harder. 

[94] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

It  is  apparently  authentic  that  the  tests  for  Naval 
Aviator  must  be  taken  before  commissioned.  This 
will  involve  twenty  to  thirty-five  hours  solo  prepara- 
tion probably,  which  it  is  the  present  plan  to  have 
done  here.  Impossible  to  tell  how  long  this  will  take. 
There  are  at  present  five  machines  in  fair  condition 
out  of  the  original  nine. 

I  haven't  had  much  chance  to  talk  it  over  with  the 
others,  but  believe  there  has  been  very  little  flying 
during  my  ten  days'  absence,  and  no  one  has 
progressed  much. 

Jus  and  I  spent  afternoon  looking  around  the 
hangars,  machines,  etc.  No  flying,  of  course,  due  to 
heavy  storm  wind  prevailing.  Came  in  and  had  early 
supper  with  Luther  and  Loman,  his  two  office  mates, 
who  had  also  come  for  a  look  around.  Went  out  to 
the  boat,  via  trolley,  and  walked  back,  a  good  two- 
mile  jog,  and  here  I  am.  Expect  to  locate  some 
friends  in  dining-room  very  soon,  and  have  a  bicker 
and  ride  home  with  them. 

Would  not  recommend  Cape  Charles  route  this 
time  of  year  under  any  circumstance.  Well  worth 
extra  trip  to  Washington  to  eliminate  bum  train  ride, 
and  bum  change  to  bum  boat.  At  least  you  can  get 
brass  beds  and  bath  on  Washington  boat,  though  Jus 
doesn't  think  much  of  the  food. 

Am  all  cheerful  and  ready  to  wait  two  or  three 
more  months  for  my  commission.  Certainly  had  a 
wonderful  vacation;  it  exceeded  all  possible  expecta- 
tions, thanks  to  all  concerned. 

Love, 

Ben. 

[95] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Norfolk,  Va., 
Sunday,  September  30,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Roy  and  I  are  spending  another 
evening  midst  the  luxuries  of  civilization,  as  to-mor- 
row we  shall  again  go  back  to  plain  living  and  high 
flying. 

Saturday  morning  at  11.30  I  had  a  nice  solo  flight 
of  about  forty  minutes,  without  passenger.  Flew  over 
to  Langley  (government  experimental)  Field,  ob- 
served the  hangars  and  a  few  machines  out  on  the 
field,  from  about  3,500  feet;  this  took  up  most  of  the 
time.  Spiralled  down  from  just  one  mile  altitude, 
and  came  in  just  before  rain  started.  We  had  a 
lecture  and  a  study  period  after  lunch,  then  were  dis- 
missed at  3.30.  Came  in  to  Norfolk  with  some  of 
the  fellows;  went  to  Old  Point  by  boat  and  had 
supper  at  the  Chamberlin  with  Jack  Foster  and 
Bobby  Stocker.  Met  Arthur  Perry  after  supper  and 
talked  with  him  for  balance  of  the  evening.  Retired 
early  and  rose  at  8.30,  enjoying  a  hot  and  cold  bath 
and  good  breakfast.  Got  a  car  and  went  to  Langley 
Field.  There  was  lots  to  be  seen  there.  The  Italian 
machines  are  beauties,  and  their  performance  only 
serves  to  show  how  hopelessly  backward  we  had 
become  in  aviation.  For  instance,  their  flying  boat 
will  climb  1,000  feet  per  minute  easily.  Ours,  100 
feet  per  minute.  That  is  a  fair  basis  of  comparison 
too,  and  their  motors  are  about  ten  times  as  depend- 
able as  the  Curtiss. 

There  was  a  little  flying  done,  but  mostly  we  looked 
around  and  talked  to  the  Italian  pilots.  One  of 
them  in  particular,  the  one  who  pilots   the   Macchi 

[96] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

flying  boat,  spoke  French  very  comfortably,  and  we 
talked  several  hours.  He  finally  came  to  dinner  at 
the  Chamberlin  with  Roy  and  me,  and  kept  up  a 
steady  flow  of  language.  Fortunately,  it  was  all  very 
interesting.  We  finally  persuaded  him  to  fly  over  to 
our  base  to-morrow  afternoon  and  stop  in  for  a  call. 
Unfortunately,  this  scout  boat  is  a  one-man  machine, 
so  there  is  no  chance  of  a  hop  with  him.  It  makes 
about  105  miles  per  hour.  .  .  . 

Hope  all  goes  well  in  Germantown.  Love  to  Nana 
and  Frances  and  Cece. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

On  Top   of  Massachusetts  Building, 

Naval  Base,  Va., 

October  3,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Am  enjoying  a  gorgeous  day 
by  studying  on  the  tower  of  this  building,  thus 
combining  practical  observation  with  the  theory.  If 
luck  holds  I  may  get  a  thirty-minute  hop  this  after- 
noon. At  last  Jack  Foster  and  Steve  Stone  are 
soloing,  and  all  those  who  haven't  had  ten  hours  are 
taking  one-hour  flights,  so  that  they  may  catch  up. 

Monday  Admiral  Dillingham  called  on  us  formally. 
He  had  been  talking  to  Willie  Willcox,  Sunday.  Said 
he  thought  we  had  had  a  raw  deal  and  was  going  to 
try  and  have  it  remedied  (not  in  those  words).  This 
was  very  encouraging.  Monday  afternoon  we  all  fell 
to  on  a  football,  and  had  a  flne  rough-house  game. 
Best  sport  for  a  long  while.  I  am  no  player,  but  this 
was  fun.    Yesterday,  study  and  a  little  flying. 

[97] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

On  the  5th  we  have  our  first  exam.;  15th  another, 
and  18th  a  couple;  so  you  see  that  blocks  the  week- 
ends pretty  thoroughly.  I  should  otherwise  have  tried 
to  make  Philadelphia,  Saturday  the  13th.  It  is  ob- 
viously impossible  to  get  ten  hours'  solo  between  now 
and  November.  I  have  thirteen  hours'  solo  now  to 
my  credit  and  that  would  mean  twelve  more.  May 
get  five,  if  lucky.  However,  with  the  Admiral  taking 
an  interest  in  us,  things  look  brighter,  and  there  is 
less  talk  of  what  to  do  if  our  commissions  do  not 
materialize  before  orders  for  France.  We  are  all 
easily  convinced  on  this  score  by  the  latest  definite 
dope,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  it  is  hard  to  decide 
one  thing  definitely  and  stick  to  it.  But,  unless  mat- 
ters become  exceedingly  unsatisfactory  and  dilatory 
(more  than  now),  I  shall  stick  right  in  this  Corps, 
and  let  come  what  may.  They  must  commission  us 
eventually,  and  I  can  at  least  afford  to  wait! 

It  is  time  to  fall  in  for  lunch.  Will  try  to  mail 
this  now. 

<  Lots  of  love, 

Ben. 

Norfolk,  Va., 
-  October  10,  1917. 

Dear  Mother:  This  is  the  quiet  hour  of  two.  We 
are  enjoying  a  lecture  by  Lieutenant  Masek,  the  new 
assistant  to  the  Lieutenant.  Willie  Willcox  has  just 
awakened  from  a  nap  on  my  shoulder,  due  to  the 
necessity  of  my  writing  and  therefore  moving.  The 
lecturer  is  speaking  of  things  we  know  already,  so 
digestions  have  the  upper  hand,  so  to  speak,  ,  .  , 

[98] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

Monday  was  a  good  flying  day.  Several  solo  flights 
made,  bringing  the  list  a  little  closer  to  me;  think  I 
am  about  fourth  up  now.  The  exam,  taken  at  three. 
Passed  with  3.45  on  a  basis  of  4-100  per  cent;  2.5  is 
passing.  .  .  . 

Your  letter  of  Sunday  reporting  all  O.K.  for  a 
visit  over  20th  and  21st.  If  possible  I  should  like 
to  get  off  in  time  to  make  Philadelphia  Friday  night, 
due  to  Founders'  Night  meeting  at  Phi  Kappa  Sigma, 
when  there  is  usually  a  great  reunion.  This,  of  course, 
depends  on  great  many  things,  including  whether  the 
Lieutenant  looks  up  how  recently  I  have  had  leave! 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Norfolk,  Va.,  Naval  Base, 
October  15,   1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Nothing  of  note  happened  Sat- 
urday. There  was  flying,  but  not  for  me.  Went  to 
town  in  the  evening  and  had  a  room  and  bath  with 
Roy.  Got  up  at  9.30  and  had  breakfast,  then  I 
proceeded  by  trolley  and  ferry  to  Boat  Harbor — 
Curtiss  School. 

Though  busy,  Carl  Batts  gave  me  preference,  and 
I  had  thirty  valuable  minutes  of  instruction  with 
him.  Learned  how  to  get  out  of  tail-spins  and  other 
bad  positions,  also  did  several  loops  and  landings. 
Stayed  all  afternoon  watching  Stinson  and  Batts  fly. 
They  are  both  wonderful  fliers.  Each  took  up  Con- 
way, a  movie  operator,  who  filmed  the  other  doing 
all  kinds  of  stunts.     Batts  glided  down  a  half  mile 

[99] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

upside  down.  He  did  this  for  a  short  distance  with 
me  once,  and  we  got  pretty  well  oiled  up  from  the 
motor.  .  .  . 

Two  new  and  two  old  N-9s  operating  to-day,  so  I 
had  an  hour's  flight,  9.30  to  10.30,  in  new  machine. 
It  is  a  beauty,  handles  easily,  and  more  power.  The 
hour  went  all  too  fast;  went  to  the  batteries  at  For- 
tress Monroe  and  could  have  bombed  them  if  they 
hadn't  shot  me  first. 

The  chances  for  the  week-end  aren't  looking  up  at 
all.  I  shall  apply  about  to-morrow,  or  Wednesday, 
and  see  what  luck  I  have.  But  don't  be  too  disap- 
pointed if  I  can't  get  away,  as  there  isn't  much  liberty 
being  given  nowadays. 

I  have  now  956  minutes'  solo  to  my  credit,  that  is 
fifteen,  almost  sixteen,  hours.  Should  be  able  to  get 
two  or  three  more  this  week  if  weather  holds.  To-day 
is  beautiful  and  snappy,  southwest  wind  and  reason- 
able waves. 

Will  get  this  off  at  once  as  it  is  really  a  Sunday 
letter  delayed.     Love  to  all  and  hope  all  goes  nicely. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Norfolk,  Va.,  Greystone  Inn, 
October   18,   1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  I  wired  at  noon  to-day  that  I 
should  not  be  able  to  get  away,  and  advising  against 
upsetting  your  plans  and  making  a  stop-over  here. 
Needless  to  say  it  would  be  a  great  pleasure  to  see 
any  or  all  of  the  party  South  bound.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  a  pretty  out-of-the-way  place  to  come  to 

[  100  ] 


1    ■)      > 

■>     >    J  ,  < 


Training  at  Norfolk 

for  one  day.  It  is  probable  that  I  will  get  at  least 
three  or  four  days  before  final  orders,  and  if  not, 
perhaps  you  would  not  find  a  through  trip  to  Phila- 
delphia, or  New  York  any  more  trouble  than  the 
stop-over  here. 

Tuesday  I  had  a  nice  evening  flight  of  about  an 
hour.  It  has  so  happened  that  my  turns  have  come 
last,  or  almost  last,  so  that  I  have  come  in  at  five- 
thirty  or  quarter  of  six.  It  is  a  beautiful  time  to  fly, 
with  the  sun  setting  red  over  Newport  News.  Tues- 
day I  went  over  and  watched  Batts  and  Stinson 
chasing  each  other  around  over  Boat  Harbor  and 
Newport  News,  just  like  a  couple  of  playful  pups. 
The  machines  took  on  personality  as  I  watched  them, 
and  finally  I  could  tell  by  the  differences  in  flying 
which  was  Batts  and  which  Stinson. 

I  had  a  sixty-nine  minute  flight  this  morning. 
Took  an  Army  Signal  Corps  officer  with  me.  He  is 
from  the  balloon  detachment  at  Fortress  Monroe, 
and  wanted  to  compare  possibilities  of  observation 
from  a  plane  with  his  other  experience  in  the  kite 
balloon.  We  located  some  buoys  that  we  were  to 
find,  then  went  over  to  Langley  Field  to  look  around. 
Got  in  just  at  lunch  time. 

This  afternoon  I  was  hustling  along  in  my  exam, 
when  Mr.  Atwater  'phoned  up  for  me,  and  I  finished 
my  paper  and  beat  it  right  down.  He  said  I  was  to 
take  some  one  over  to  Cape  Charles  and  back,  pronto! 
This  was  great  dope,  especially  as  I  had  a  new  ma- 
chine to  drive  and  a  good  compass.  .  .  . 

Looked  over  a  map  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  started 
off.     Destination  was  Cherrystone  Island,  near  Cape 

[101] 


r   (\    t      e    t 
'      <    t  It    t 


Benjamin  JLee^  2d 

Charles  town.     This  proved  to  be  the  size  of  Negro 
Island,  Camden. 

Was  out  of  sight  of  land  for  twenty  minutes  on 
the  way  over,  due  to  thick  atmosphere.  Cleared  up 
on  the  way  back,  but  I  steered  compass  course. 
Landed  and  stayed  in  the  machine  for  fifteen  minutes 
while  passenger  addressed  the  Naval  detachment  there. 
He  had  to  be  carried  ashore,  due  to  shoal  water. 

Got  back  O.K.;  two  hours,  fifteen  minutes  from 
time  of  departure;  107  minutes  actual  flying  time. 
This  puts  my  solo  time  up  to  twenty  hours,  fifty 
minutes,  so  I  should  hear  from  the  Lieutenant  about 
taking  tests  very  soon. 

Certainly  am  sorry  to  disappoint  you  after  delaying 
departure  on  my  account.    This  is  war! 

Love  to  all, 

Ben. 

U.  S.  Navy  Aviation  Detachment, 

Hampton  Roads,  Va., 

October   21,    1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Letters  from  you  yesterday 
and  Friday  indicate  that  you  will  proceed  to  Jack- 
sonville as  per  plans,  and  can  be  free  for  a  quick 
jimip  any  time  thereafter.  Under  the  circumstances 
this  is  the  best  arrangement,  I  guess,  and  may  look 
better  as  time  progresses. 

The  ride  with  Batts  last  Sunday  was  not  a  free 
one,  though  he  was  very  friendly  in  the  manner — 
taking  me  up  right  away  upon  arrival  at  the  school. 
It  was  worth  so  much  more  than  it  cost  that  I  might 
consider  it  almost  free. 

[102] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

Friday  morning  it  was  blowing  pretty  hard,  but 
not  too  hard  for  flying  at  first.  I  was  sent  right  up 
for  my  6,000  feet  test,  landing  200  feet  of  a  mark. 
All  went  well  for  a  while,  then  the  motor  seemed  to 
lack  power.  After  an  hour  I  had  only  gotten  3,800, 
so  gave  it  up.  The  motor  started  to  miss  a  little. 
N-9s  should  be  able  to  climb  7,500  in  an  hour,  at 
their  best. 

Tried  the  second  test,  cutting  off  the  spark  and 
letting  the  motor  stop  at  3,000  feet,  and  attempted 
a  landing  200  feet  from  the  patrol  boat.  Missed  by 
about  fifty  or  more  feet.  I  had  the  distance  right, 
but  got  a  little  bit  side  of  the  wind  and  so  got  blown 
sidewise. 

Mechanics  found  several  adjustments  necessary 
and  got  the  motor  running  properly  again.  Then 
all  flying  was  called  off,  due  to  squall  wind  which 
had  been  increasing  all  morning.  However,  I  got 
credit  for  my  "rough  air  flying"  test,  as  it  was  very 
bumpy  and  hard  to  manage.  There  was  a  forty-mile 
wind  from  the  southeast.  This  ended  all  flying  for 
the  time,  and  as  it  still  blows  there  is  only  hope  for 
the  morrow. 

The  crowd  from  Squantum,  Mass.,  arrived  yester- 
day. Seventeen  students;  have  had  five  hours'  solo 
each,  no  work  or  study;  and  a  working  force  of  100 
mechanics,  sailors,  messmen,  etc.  These  Squantumites 
have  something  to  learn  under  Mr.  McDonnell! 

Hope  this  reaches  you  before  leaving.  It  will  have 
to  be  part  of  our  missed  Sunday  visit. 

Stacks  and  oodles  of  love, 

Ben. 

[  103  ] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

U.  S.  Navy  Aviation  Detachment, 

Hampton  Roads,  Va., 

October  26,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Card  and  letter  from  German- 
town  the  last  news,  though  I  expect  a  letter  from 
Jacksonville  this  morning  or  afternoon. 

Wednesday  we  took  our  final  exam,  on  Bowditch 
Navigation.  My  mark  not  yet  corrected,  but  quite 
sure  of  at  least  passing;  4  is  perfect.  My  other 
marks  are  as  follows: 


Loaning,    Part 

1 

3.45 

Loaning,    Part 

2 

3.20 

Gunnery 

3.02 

(1st 

with  two 

others) 

Seamanship 

3.9 

(1st 

in  class) 

Bowditch 

? 

We  still  have  an  oral  exam,  in  Semaphore  and  Radio, 
but  this  should  not  cause  any  trouble. 

This  is  another  good  flying  day.  Had  I  been  on 
the  active  flying  list  I  would  have  had  good  flying 
yesterday.  Jack  Foster  got  in  three  hours,  Bobby 
Stocker  four,  and  passed  his  test.  Seven  machines 
bombed  Norfolk  with  Liberty  Loan  hand  bills. 

I  shall  probably  have  a  chance  at  the  6,000  test 
Monday  or  next  good  day.  I  will  keep  missing  it 
until  I  can  get  there  by  a  normal  glide. 

Will  send  this  Special,  so  it  may  reach  you  Sunday. 

Lots  and  lots  of  love, 

Ben. 

Norfolk,  Va., 

■!  November  4,  1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  At  last  all  tests  are  behind  and 
there  is  nothing  more  to  worry  about.     The  coveted 

[  104  ] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

commission  may  be  expected  in  about  ten  days,  dur- 
ing which  time  I  shall  be  getting  in  some  solo  on  the 
big  R-6  machines. 

Yesterday  I  took  the  cross-wind  flight  with  Lieu- 
tenant Masek  as  passenger-observer.  In  the  after- 
noon took  the  6,000  and  finally  made  the  mark  all 
right. 

Several  of  the  others  have  finished.  Mr.  McDonnell 
just  returned  from  Washington  and  has  the  latest 
dope:  those  of  us  who  finished  yesterday  will  form  a 
unit — Fuller,  Hutchins,  Stocker,  Stone,  Foster  and 
myself.  His  present  expectation  was  that  if  we 
received  the  appointment  on  foreign  service  for 
which  he  recommended  us,  we  would  sail  in  about 
three  weeks.     This  is  great,  and  an  ideal  group. 

Of  course  I  will  keep  you  posted  and  will  wire  if 
and  when  leave  is  obtained.  This  will  probably  not 
be  for  a  week  or  ten  days  at  the  earliest. 

Spent  the  night  here  with  Roy  and  enjoyed  a 
luxurious  morning.  Now  we  take  some  Boston 
friends  of  his  to  Newport  News  and  Old  Point. 

It  is  time  to  get  going.  Will  write  again  this 
evening  if  an5rthing  of  interest.  Letters  received 
regularly  and  with  usual  pleasure. 

Lots  of  love  and  a  birthday  kiss  "from  me  to  you." 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Naval  Base,  Va., 
November  10,   1917. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  8th  and  enclosures, 
also  letters  from  Daddy  and  Cece  post  me  thoroughly. 

[106] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Do  not  measure  my  appreciation  by  response  in  this 
ease,  as  I  have  not  written  since  Tuesday.  I  expect 
to  send  you  a  day  letter  to-morrow  forestalling  anxious 
inquiry,  I  trust. 

My  commission  is  in  my  pocket,  but  I  am  not  yet 
an  Ensign.  It  seems  as  though  every  conceivable 
obstacle  must  be  overcome  first.  But  I  suppose  my 
letters  are  more  understandable  if  chronological. 

Wednesday  afternoon  adverse  winds  arranged  for 
us  an  evening's  liberty.  My  winter  green  uniform 
saw  daylight.  I  got  hair-cut,  dinner,  and  fought  with 
the  tailor  a  bit.  Ordered  my  birthday  eats  to  be 
delivered  Friday.  Bought  a  pair  of  warm,  rabbit- 
lined   gloves — birthday  thanks. 

Thursday  morning  I  instructed  Jack  Foster  and 
Bobby  Stocker  on  the  F-boat,  to  our  mutual  edifica- 
tion. In  the  afternoon  I  had  my  first  solo  in  an  R-6 
(twin  pontoon  200  h.  p.)  and  enjoyed  it  very  much; 
now  nothing  but  an  11-6  will  do  me.  They  are  beau- 
tifully balanced  machines  and  far  easier  to  fly  than 
the  N-9,  or  boat.  I  retired  to  a  safe  distance  and 
ample  height  (one  mile)  to  do  my  first  loops  (three 
and  a  stall),  with  which  I  experienced  no  difficulty. 
It  seemed  as  well  to  satisfy  the  natm^al  craving  which 
every  one  has  at  this  stage  of  the  game,  and  to  prove 
to  one's  satisfaction  that  it  is  easy,  though  not  advis- 
able for  steady  diet  on  pontoon  machines.  Looping 
is  only  appealing  as  a  feat  and  loses  its  charm  after 
it  is  once  done.  Spiralling  down,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  the  most  pleasing  part  of  a  flight,  the  motor  being 
cut  off  and  the  machine  more  responsive.  No  strain 
on  the  plane  either. 

[106] 


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Training  at  Norfolk 

Friday  the  commissions  came  for  five  of  us.  In 
the  afternoon  the  doctor  gave  us  a  strict  medical 
exam. — the  strictest  I  have  ever  had.  Of  course  he 
found  my  eyes  as  usual,  and  felt  that  regulations 
required  the  sanction  of  higher  authority  in  order  to 
pass  me  on  to  higher  rank.  He  was  unable  to  finish 
all  the  examining.  This  morning  we  went  to  the 
dispensary  for  the  Base,  where  they  have  one  of 
the  whirling  chairs.  He  gave  us  about  ten  minutes 
each  of  that  most  unpleasant  testing.  Whirled  in  the 
chair,  then  told  to  look  at  his  finger,  here  and  there. 
Whirled  again,  head  down;  told  to  sit  up,  but  unable 
to  do  so.  It  turned  out  O.K.  for  us  all,  as  we  all 
reacted  favorably  and  were  duly  dizzy.  I  was  proud 
to  have  my  semi-circular  canals  (in  ears)  proven  of 
good  quality  by  being  very  dizzy  and  lop-sided.  The 
doctor  said  I  showed,  therefore,  the  best  natural 
equilibrium  of  those  tested  today.  This  was  some 
compensation  for  commission  hold-up,  and  for  feeling 
miserable  until  after  lunch. 

The  others  were  sworn  in  after  lunch.  A  properly 
endorsed  letter  was  mailed  to  the  Surgeon- General 
stating  the  facts  and  requesting  the  proper  waiver. 
This  should  forthcome  by  wire  on  Monday  or  Tues- 
day. I  am  annoyed  but  not  alarmed,  as  I  think  there 
is  little  reasonable  doubt  of  its  coming  through  all 
right.  I  was  after  the  doctor  to  telegraph,  but  terms 
and  figures  and  Naval  precedent  seemed  too  formid- 
able to  overcome. 

In  the  afternoon  I  gave  a  student  about  an  hour 
and  a  quarter  instruction  on  R-6  work.  This  may 
sound  queer  after  one  solo,   but  you  see  I  had  in- 

[  107  ] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

struction  under  Batts  at  Newport  News,  and  besides, 
I  have  had  some  forty  hours'  solo  by  now  (counting 
the  instructing  I  have  done),  and  the  time  is  experi- 
ence in  the  air,  on  no  matter  what  machine.  You 
probably  realize  fully  by  now  that  you  need  not  fear 
for  me  any  lack  of  thoroughness  or  too  great  haste 
on  the  part  of  the  Navy.  ... 

Now  it  is  ten  o'clock  and  the  bugler  has  made  a 
racket.  We  usually  turn  in  between  8.30  and  9, 
week-day  evenings,  so  there  is  not  much  to  them. 
Several  times  the  infernal  taps  have  waked  me,  and 
once  I  jumped  up  and  closed  the  windows,  thinking 
it  was  morning.  .  .  . 

The  place  has  developed  wonderfully  and  we  have 
been  fortunate  with  weather,  too.  A  record  of  fifty 
hours  in  the  air  was  made  day  before  yesterday.  That 
means  about  eight  machines  flying  six  hours.  Really 
about  a  dozen,  sometimes  ten  in  the  air  at  once. 
Rules  of  the  road  and  precautions  to  be  observed 
of  course.  The  runway  on  which  machines  are  placed 
can  only  hold  four,  so  that  limits  the  capacity  of  the 
place  at  present.  It  is  a  real  flying  school,  often 
three  machines  gliding  down  at  once  and  always 
several  others  in  sight  humming  their  tune. 

My  leave  will  probably  not  exceed  five  days  and 
had  better  be  in  Philadelphia. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


[108] 


Training  at  Norfolk 
To  Ms  Brother 

Norfolk,  Va., 
November  16,  1917. 

Dear  Jus:  Yours  of  recent  dates,  direct  and  via 
Jacksonville,  post  me  that  matters  are  still  delayed 
in  your  department. 

Shake  hands  with  Ensign  B.  Lee,  Lieutenant  Lee, 
for  at  last  the  obstacles  are  behind  me.  Perhaps  this 
is  old  news,  depending  on  whether  mother  has  for- 
warded— but  this  is  the  story: 

The  recommendations  went  to  Washington,  No- 
vember 5.  Mine  compared  sufficiently  favorably  to 
secure  foreign  duty,  it  seemed  to  me.  The  five  sent 
in  then  were  all  recommended  for  foreign  service. 
Yesterday  the  waiver  came  and  yours  truly  was  sworn 
in,  much  to  his  satisfaction.  Sported  my  "ailerons" 
last  night,  for  the  first  time,  on  a  brand-new  forestry 
green  uniform,  also  on  regulation  green  coat. 

Due  to  the  need  of  instructors,  it  seems  unlikely 
that  I  can  get  leave  at  present.  However,  we  expect 
orders  for  France  (Egypt  or  the  Mediterranean)  any 
time  during  the  coming  week,  or  any  time  thereafter. 
These  carry  four  days'  leave  before  reporting  in  New 
York. 

I  have  had  a  reasonable  amount  of  R-6  flying,  and 
a  good  deal  of  boat  and  N-9.  A  few  nights  ago, 
when  giving  the  mechanic  a  joy  ride  in  the  old  Miami 
boat,  I  brought  it  in  through  the  arch  into  the  lagoon, 
about  two  feet  off  the  water.  Fortunately  it  was 
getting  dark  and  so  I  got  away  with  it,  unobserved 
by  unfriendly  critics,  if  any. 

[109] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

"Dave"  McCuUough  is  here  now — ^recently  com- 
missioned two-striper.  He  took  his  Naval  Aviator 
tests  in  F-boat  a  day  or  so  ago  and  passed  on  the 
second  trial.  Flies  boat  beautifully.  Didn't  he  test 
out  the  HS-1  recently?  I  believe  he  is  to  fly  it  be- 
tween here  and  Washington.  Hustle  it  down,  I  want 
a  crack  at  it  before  sailing.  I  understand  we  are  to 
have  almost  surely  H-boat  work  in  patrolling.  This 
should  be  very  boring  after  using  tractors  over  here, 
and  all  hands  are  hoping  for  some  land  flying,  if  only 
instruction. 

Yesterday  a  student  in  an  N-9  got  me  Into  a 
snappy  tail-spin  by  making  a  rotten  turn.  I  let  him 
go  to  educate  him,  all  other  means  having  been  tried 
in  vain,  except  that  of  a  fire  extinguisher  on  the  head, 
which  is  sometimes  recommended! 

I  have  supervision  over  N-9,  347  and  R-6,  192,  with 
a  class  of  five  Tech.  ground-schoolers  to  instruct. 
Yesterday  I  got  through  the  class  in  the  morning 
and  helped  out  on  other  classes  in  p.  m.  Had  four 
students  who  had  never  been  up  before.  Gave  them 
no  stunts  but  started  them  right  away  on  air  work. 
One  of  them  sufficiently  good  to  try  turns  on  his  first 
hop.  .  .  . 

I  should  be  able  to  make  Philadelphia,  if  lucky, 
next  Saturday. 

Hope  you  get  your  delayed  orders  very  soon.  It 
is  horrible  waiting  for  the  Navy  Department  to  act. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


[110] 


Training  at  Norfolk 
To  his  Mother 

Norfolk,  Va., 

November  24,  1917. 

8.30   p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  At  last  I  was  able  to  wire  you 
the  news  we  both  wanted,  and  with  that  to  feed  upon 
I  hope  a  certain  shortage  of  letters  will  not  seem  so 
acute. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  from  day  to  day  mere 
circumstances  have  prevented  my  applying  for  this 
leave.  On  Wednesday  Lieutenant  McDonnell  took 
our  prize  R-6  and  flew  to  Washington,  to  return 
the  next  day.  Coming  back  he  had  motor  trouble. 
Finally  this  morning  about  11  a.m.  he  showed  up, 
and  was  immediately  swamped  with  applications  for 
leave.  The  following  were  granted:  Stocker,  five 
days,  beginning  at  once.  Foster,  ten  days.  Jack 
Geary,  four  days.  My  leave  begins  Wednesday  and 
is  up  Monday  morning,  four  days.  We  are  as 
pleased  as  Punch.  .  .  .  We  have  all  done  considerable 
flying,  and  in  four  good  days  last  week,  made  a  total 
of  over  200  hours  flying  for  the  station. 

Yesterday  was  a  pretty  long  day  for  me,  but  not 
unusually  tiring.  Instructed  my  class  on  the  R-6 
in  the  morning,  and  didn't  do  much  in  the  afternoon, 
as  Harry  Davison  was  using  the  R-6.  Took  a  ride 
with  Jack  Foster  as  pilot  as  he  wanted  to  try  some 
advanced  air  work,  spirals,  flipper  turns,  etc.  Later 
in  the  afternoon  I  went  about  five  miles  out  and  flew 
around  the  departing  U.  S.  S.  Florida  several  times 

[111] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

to  cheer  them  on  their  way  to  England  or  France  to 
join  the  fleet. 

All  hands  had  liberty  at  3  p.  m.  Drew  my  $90- 
uniform  gratuity  and  some  pay  from  the  paymaster 
to-day,  amounting  to  $145.  Went  to  Peebles  &  Wells, 
tailors,  and  found  my  bill  $158,  which  made  the  check 
look  sick,  so  I  still  owe  $50  there,  having  retained  a 
portion  for  travelling  expenses  to  Philadelphia. 
Guess  I  shall  have  to  accept  your  offer  of  additional 
grub  stake  until  my  pay  gets  into  full  swing.  Also 
I  have  been  warned  by  pioneers  writing  to  their 
friends  here  that  it  is  well  to  take  plenty  of  cash  or 
Express  checks  abroad,  as  Navy  pay  is  even  slower 
coming  there. 

Wednesday  night  I  shall  take  the  Cape  Charles 
boat  and  train  for  Philadelphia,  arriving  Broad  Street 
Station  early  and  in  time  for  breakfast  in  German- 
town,  if  on  time. 

Thursday  afternoon  the  Penn-Cornell  game  and 
usual  reunion  at  3539  Locust  will  be  one  of  the  fea- 
tures of  the  week-end,  and  a  very  special  reason  why 
I  have  kept  to  the  policy  of  watchful  waiting  for  this 
particular  week-end.  Every  one  has  been  saying  that 
I  would  miss  the  vacation  by  waiting  and,  in  fact, 
there  is  yet  time  for  a  slip,  should  orders  come.  Am 
writing  now  to  Nana,  Phil,  Jus  and  Bud  Philips, 
who  has  written  for  me  to  "jump  ship,"  if  necessary, 
to  get  there  this  week.. 

With  luck  then,  I  assume  that  we  may  give  due 
thanks   together   November   29. 

Stacks  of  love, 

Ben. 

[112] 


Training  at  Norfolk 

From  Thanksgiving  until  December  30,  Ben  and 
his  mother  were  together,  so  there  was  no  need 
of  letters.  Ben  received  orders  for  foreign  service 
the  middle  of  December  with,  of  com'se,  a  week's 
leave.  His  sailing  was  delayed  from  day  to  day, 
owing  to,  coal  shortage,  until  January  7,  1918. 

To  Mr.  J,  C.  Chase 

414  Manheim  Street,  Germantown, 
Saturday,  December  29,   1917. 

Dear  Daddy:  Your  wire  answering  mine  at  hand, 
and  your  congratulations  accepted  with  thanks  for 
us  both. 

Things  have  happened  almost  too  fast  to  tell  for 
the  past  week,  but  the  feature  of  the  last  few  days 
has  been  the  'phone  call  to  New  York,  and  the  regular 
postponement  of  the  sailing  date.  Present  advices 
indicate  a  probable  departure  Monday  noon.  This  is 
especially  subject  to  postponement,  due  to  blizzard 
now  on  hand  which  may  delay  the  coal  en  route  the 
bunkers. 

Mother  will  be  in  Jacksonville  soon  after,  or  per- 
haps before  this  letter,  and  will  be  full  of  news  and 
details  for  some  time  to  come.  .  .  . 

Ruth  and  I  will  go  to  Wilmington  with  Phil  and 
mother  on  their  way  South.  Bud  Philips  will  meet 
us  there  and  we  will  proceed  to  Kennett  for  the  day, 
after  which  I  will  go  to  New  York,  unless  fortune 
favors  me  again  with  a  day's  delay. 

I  hope  you  had  a  chance  to  tell  Mack  of  my  en- 

[113] 


Benjamin  JLee^  2d 

gagement  to  Ruth  Philips.    I  didn't  know  his  honey- 
moon address,  if  any. 

Many  thanks  for  your  special  troubles  for  me  while 
in  Jacksonville  and,  in  fact,  at  all  times. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


[114] 


Letters,   and   Extracts   from   Ben's   Note-Book, 

Written  Between  January  7,  1918,  and 

October  28,  1918 


December.  1917 


)    J  i  j>  >    >  > 


1  J 


'    '     J  J  J  J  J  ,     '  >  *  »  'j  J  '  J  i ,  ' 


IV 

Letters,   and   Extracts   from   Ben's   Note-Book, 

Written  Between  January  7,  1918,  and 

October  28,  1918 

To  his  Mother 

Monday  Afternoon,,  at  Dock, 
January  7,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Arrived  from  Germantown  at 
1  A.  M.  last  night.  Coming  from  Kennett  Square 
Bud  and  I  stopped  at  Haverford  and  saw  Bill  Fer- 
guson, but  Phil  had  not  arrived  from  the  South. 
Left  fur  coat  at  Cousin  Marianna's  and  saw  her, 
also  Uncle  Theo.  Left  Cad  and  hopped  a  trolley  to 
N.  Philadelphia  for  the  nine  o'clock  and  waited  an 
extra  hour.  Had  a  nice  room  at  the  McAlpin.  Left 
a  call  for  nine  o'clock. 

Spoke  to  Jack  Foster  on  the  'phone.  He  called 
the  S.  S.  Co.,  and  so  did  I.  I  then  'phoned  to  Ruth 
that  there  was  no  use  coming  over.  She  and  Mrs. 
Philips  were  going  to  join  Mr.  Philips  for  the  auto 
show  here  if  I  was  to  have  any  spare  time. 

Didn't  leave  my  room  but  had  the  'phone  going 
every  minute.  Got  "Mothersill"  by  telephone,  also 
trunks  and  Abercrombie  package.  Had  my  uniform 
pressed   over   night. 

Repacked  trunks,  and  had  the  little  steamer,  with 
small  satchel,  expressed  to  Gtn.     Sent  you  a  wire, 

[117] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

saying  good-bye.  Failed  to  interview  J.  P.  Morgan 
or  the  pay  office.  I  mailed  a  letter  to  the  office 
American  Line  to  be  mailed  to  you  on  arrival  of 
ship.    Hope  they  will  do  so.    Will  send  a  cable  from 

,   anyhow. 

2.10  p.  M.  The  table  is  shaking  so  I  will  stop  and 
hope  that  this  letter  may  reach  you. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Monday  Noon, 
January  14,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  I  hope  my  letter  mailed  Mon- 
day afternoon  last  reached  you  O.K.  It  was  to  be 
taken  ashore  at  Quarantine  by  an  officer.  Also  you 
should  receive  one  before  this,  left  in  New  York,  to 
be  mailed  by  the  S.  S.  Co.  That  would  make  this  the 
third  letter  to  you  since  sailing. 

I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  write  a  great  deal  but 
no  such  luck.  My  "sea  legs"  have  been  delayed  en 
route.  While  only  actively  sick  two  days  I  have  had 
to  be  careful  of  smoke,  food  and  confined  places,  and 
stick  to  steamer  chairs  and  fresh  air  pretty  steadily; 
also  do  not  use  my  eyes.  I  have  read  only  one  book  in 
eight  days. 

Charley  Fuller  and  I  had  an  unknown  quartered 
with  us.  It  was  great  luck  that  Ensign  Dick  Warren, 
U.  of  P.  '17,  happened  to  be  crossing  and  could 
exchange  with  the  other  fellow.  Dick  was  a  good 
classmate  friend,  especially  the  last  two  years.     We 

[118] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

had  all  our  French,  English  and  history  classes  to- 
gether. 

Charles  has  just  the  right  kind  of  a  wrapper,  and 
Dick  some  good  slippers,  so  all  goes  well. 

I  tried  "Mothersill's"  the  first  day  out,  and  it 
worked  pretty  well,  but  am  saving  the  rest  in  case 
of  storm  the  last  couple  of  days,  because  from  now 
on  we  are  supposed  to  be  dressed  and  wearing  life- 
preservers  from  6  A.  M.  to  8  p.  m.  at  least,  in  case  of 
attack.  ;  ' 

We  are  as  comfortable  as  possible  on  a  boat  built 
thirty  years  ago — considering  that  we  are  three  to 
a  cabin  with  all  port-holes  closed  at  night. 

Good  meals,  of  which  I  have  only  missed  three 
completely;  good  service;  French  and  English  stew- 
ards; good  room  stewards;  bouillon  at  11  a.m.  and 
tea  at  4  p.  m.  "Lemon  Squashes"  can  usually  be 
obtained  if  one  can  brave  the  smoking-room,  also 
hair-cuts,  of  which  I  shall  secure  one  this  afternoon. 

There  are  about  twenty-five  naval  officers  on  board, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  captains,  majors  and  first 
lieutenants,  and  two  or  three  hundred  sailors  aft. 
There  is  an  interesting  English  Royal  Flying  Corps 
captain  who  is  going  back  to  active  service.  He  got 
hit  a  year  ago  in  his  Nieuport  by  an  "Archie,"  which 
carried  away  his  landing  gear  and  caused  him  to 
smash  up  more  or  less  on  the  landing. 

A  number  of  the  fellows  are  using  Naval  Attache, 
Paris,  as  forwarding  address.  We  will  probably 
be  in  London  only  a  short  time,  so  I'll  likely  give 
Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.  that  address  myself  in  case  any- 
thing comes  there. 

[119] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

It  is  pretty  hard  to  write  anything  but  plain  de- 
scriptions, etc.,  as  long  as  "the  ship  goes  wop,  with 
a  wiggle  between,*'  as  Kipling  puts  it.  But  I  do 
want  you  to  know  how  much  I  appreciated  my  three 
weeks  of  vacation  before  leaving, — a  wonderful  week 
in  Jacksonville, — and  two  unexpected  weeks  of 
honeymoon,  almost,  with  Ruth.  I  could  not  have 
enjoyed  this  so  much  if  you  and  I  had  not  our  special 
times  in  Norfolk,  and  later,  that  I  knew  you  couldn't 
begrudge  the  time.  Do  you  remember  three  weeks 
ago  to-morrow — Christmas  morning?  You  knew  me 
before  I  knew  myself,  and  perhaps  you  knew  of  my 
love  before  I  realized  it  fully.  Oh,  I'll  always  have 
heart  enough  for  two  as  long  as  one  is  Mother! 

Lots  of  love  to  the  family,  and  I'll  write  more 
when  ashore. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

January  16,  1918. 

S.  S.  New  York, 

{One  day  from  Liverpool) . 

Four  A.  M.  Had  any  one  looked  in  on  us  through 
the  cabin  doorway  he  might  have  remarked  that 
a  gun  shot  wouldn't  wake  us.  Dick  Warren  slept 
with  one  foot  almost  out  of  the  doorway,  which  was 
open  for  that  purpose,  and  had  the  other  lanky  limb 
folded  to  fit  the  bunk.  Charley  Fuller,  up  above  me, 
could  only  be  identified  by  an  intermittent  and  rather 
soothing   snore.      I    was    dead   to    the   day-world    of 

[  120  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

rocking  ships  and  oily  dining-rooms  and  probably- 
enjoying  the  fresh  air  of  the  upper  regions,  or 
Kennett? 

Was  somebody  shaking  me?  No,  it  came  again — 
an  explosion,  dull,  but  powerful.  Torpedoed.  In 
less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  we  were  pulling  on 
breeches  and  shoes.  Our  steward,  Kreutzer,  had 
called  in  his  usual  cheery  voice:  "All  on  deck,  gentle- 
men." A  third  explosion  came  almost  at  once. 
"That's  three,"  I  said,  and  considered  the  old  ship 
as  good  as  sunk.  Dick  was  struggling  into  his 
famous  life-suit  that  he  had  been  kidded  about  so 
much,  and  Charley  climbed  into  his  fur  flying-over- 
alls. I  put  on  everything  in  reach,  and  blessed  the 
captain  for  not  blowing  the  "boat  station's"  whistle. 
So  considerate  of  him,  I  thought,  to  give  us  time  to 
dress  properly  before  taking  to  the  boats.  At  the 
same  time,  I  had  a  queer  hopeless  feeling,  for  we 
were  hundreds  of  miles  from  England  still,  and  even 
the  best  of  life-boats —  So  I  expressed  myself  to 
Chas.:  "That  third  hit,  aft,  will  finish  her,  won't  it?" 
He  and  Dick  looked  at  me  questioningly,  so  I  ex- 
panded the  statement:  "I  say,  three  torpedoes  will 
sink  her  sure."  A  light  dawned  at  last,  and  Charley 
relieved  me.  It  had  only  been  the  six-inch  guns 
firing,  which  I,  coming  from  a  sound  sleep,  had  as- 
sumed were  torpedoes  in  the  good  ship's  sides!  For 
fully  five  minutes  I  could  not  believe  the  truth,  so 
thoroughly  was  I  imbued  with  the  thought  that  we 
were  in  a  sinking  condition.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until 
we  reached  Liverpool  that  I  completely  recovered 
from  the  mental  shock  sustained  from  4  to  4.10  a.  m. 

[121] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Now  I  could  laugh  at  Dick  and  his  life-saving  suit, 
so  I  made  off  to  the  deck  with  a  large  cake  of  choco- 
late, which  Bobby  Stocker  soon  helped  me  dispose 
of.  Enthusiastic  Bob  had  happened  to  go  to  sleep 
dressed,  and  Steve  Stone,  his  cabin  mate,  had  not 
the  heart  to  wake  him  up  at  ten,  the  night  before, 
so  Bob  was  almost  the  first  on  deck,  and  watched 
the  gun  fire,  but  of  course  saw  nothing  in  the  pitch 
blackness. 

In  another  hour  dawn  began,  and  by  5.30  the 
sun  looked  over  the  edge  of  the  world,  making  the 
sky  an  artist's  palette.  The  east  showed  Mars  all 
brasses,  and  deep  blues,  bloodstreaked.  Softer  was 
the  western  picture — softer  and  sweeter.  The  clouds 
were  rolled  and  wooley  near  the  horizon,  while  above 
they  streaked  in  fleecy  baby  blues  and  pinks  with  a 
cluster  of  carnations  here  and  there. 

To  Ms  Brother 

U.  S.  M.  S.  "New  York," 
January   16,   1918. 

Dear  Phil:  If  the  worthy  censor  realizes  that  the 
following  has  absolutely  no  military  value,  you  may 
get  a  chance  to  read  of  our  trip  herewith. 

I  arrived  in  New  York  about  1.30  Sunday  night, 
the  nine  o'clock  from  Philadelphia  being  quite  late. 
Next  morning  I  'phoned  from  the  McAlpin  and  was 
surprised  to  hear  definitely  that  the  boat  would  pull 
out,  and  I  had  to  be  on  board  by  11  a.  m.  This 
necessitated  some  hustling,  but  I  finally  made  it  in  a 
taxi.    Found  Chas.  Fuller  and  the  others  at  the  dock. 

[122] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Charlie  and  I  got  a  cabin  together  and  got  Dick 
Warren  for  the  third.  Dick  was  in  my  class  at 
U.  of  P.,  and  quite  a  chum  there,  so  it  worked  out 
finely. 

For  six  days  I  wasn't  good  for  much  but  a 
steamer-chair  on  deck.  This  old  thirty-year-old  boat 
has  some  motion;  it  pitches  and  rolls  and,  due  to  the 
engines,  wiggles  and  shakes  most  of  the  time. 

We  are  quite  comfortable;  grub  excellent;  cabins 
crowded  but  fairly  good;  steamer-chairs  and  rugs; 
bouillon  served  at  11  and  tea  at  4  p.  m.     There  are 

only  about  naval  officers  on  board,  and  about 

army  captains,  majors  and  colonels.    Also  some 

sailors  aft,  a  number  of  them  being  . 

By  day  before  yesterday  I  managed  to  write  a 
couple  of  letters.  Yesterday  I  played  a  bit  of  chess 
with  Dick,  and  in  the  afternoon  played  bridge  with 
him  vs,  Chas.  Fuller  and  Peck.  We  trimmed  them 
by  only  300  points  on  seven  rubbers.  So  you  see  I 
have  at  last  recovered  a  bit.  Able  to  enjoy  the  grub 
a  bit  more,  too. 

Since  yesterday  noon  we  have  been  in  the  so-called 
"barred"  submarine  zone,  and  have  been  required  to 
keep  life-belts  on.  Also  we  had  a  couple  of  life-boat 
drills  and  were  assigned  to  boats,  about  fifteen  to  a 
boat. 

Last  night  some  of  us  turned  in  and  some  not. 
Our  bunch  all  did,  although  I  think  we  kept  on 
underwear  instead  of  pajamas.  We  didn't  antici- 
pate any  trouble.  The  weather  was  thick  yesterday 
and  of  course  last  night  it  was  pitch  black,  but  the 
boat  jammed  right  ahead  with  all  lights  out.    No  one 

[123] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

is  even  allowed  to  smoke  on  deck,  as  the  slightest 
glimmer  might  give  us  away  to  a  watchful  submarine. 
At  4  A.  M.  there  was  a  heavy  metallic  crash.  Charles 
switched  on  the  lights  and  we  started  to  pile  out  in  a 
hurry.  I  thought  torps  were  hitting  us,  but  it 
proved  to  be  either  a  brush  with  the  real  thing  or 
an  expression  of  nervousness  on  the  part  of  the 
gunners.  At  any  rate  they  let  fly  several  times.  I 
turned  in  again  and  was  roused  about  eight,  just  in 
time  to  enjoy  dawn  on  a  beautiful  morning.  Dawn 
at  8  A.M.?  Yes,  our  watches  have  been  tampered 
with  considerably,  due  to  our  eastward  course  and  to 
England's   daylight  saving  hour. 

A  destroyer  is  reported  approaching.  We  were 
supposed  to  be  met  and  convoyed  yesterday,  but  the 
thick  weather  evidently  made  it  impossible  to  find  us. 
Of  course  we  cannot  use  our  wireless  while  in  this 
region. 

If  this  letter  gets  through,  and  I  don't  see  why 
it  shouldn't,  you  had  better  take  it  to  Gtn.,  as  I  have 
not  written  to  Jus  or  Frances.  My  love  to  them, 
and  regards  to  all  hands. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

U.  S.  M.  S.  "New  York," 
January  16,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  letter  is  written  with  an 
eye  to  possible  strict  censorship,  which  may  be  im- 
posed on  some  of  the  others  written  previously.  No 
one  knows  just  how  far  it  is  reasonable  to  go. 

[  124  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Yesterday  and  to-day  I  have  felt  much  better  and 
enjoyed  several  hours  of  bridge  yesterday  p.  m.,  with- 
out ill  effects. 

To-day  is  beautiful,  moderate  temperature  and 
sunny.  Every  one  is  cheered  mightily  as  we  an- 
ticipate making  port  in  a  day  or  so. 

We  have  had  a  little  excitement  at  odd  times,  but 
everything  is  all  right  now,  and  we  are  enjoy- 
ing every  protection.  I  shall  of  course  cable  you 
on  arrival,  and  to  Ruth  also,  if  possible  to  send 
two. 

You  should  also  receive  a  letter  mailed  from  New 
York  when  we  make  port. 

I  have  written  at  length  a  few  days  ago;  also  to 
Phil,  with  some  bare  account  of  our  more  interesting 
experiences.  He  can  forward  this  if  the  censor  is 
sufficiently  willing. 

I  am  feeling  fine  and  really  think  my  "sea  legs" 
are  somewhat  established,  though  enjoying  the  advan- 
tage of  a  sea  that  is  much  quieter  than  a  few  days  ago. 
Chas.  Fuller  made  a  sketch  of  me  in  his  bathrobe 
when  I  wasn't  feeling  very  well.  It  is  amusing  and 
I  will  try  to  send  it. 

Lots   of  love   to   all   the   family. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

January   17,    1918. 
9  P.  M. 

What  is  so  dark  as  a  London  street?  Answer: 
A  London  station,  and  quite  right  that  it  should  be 

[125] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

so.  "Very  right  and  proper  too,"  as  they  tell  us  here. 
And  so  it  was  that  we  couldn't  find  Jack  Foster's 
grip  or  Steve's  trunk  until  all  other  passengers  had 
removed  their  "boxes"  from  the  platform,  and  left 
these  two  precious  articles  standing  alone. 

After  that  two  taxis  sped  us  at  nervous  speed 
through  a  labyrinth  of  streets,  whose  lamps  merely 
served  to  make  us  more  aware  that  it  was  raining. 
We  saw  none  of  the  cheerful  London  crowds  that 
night,  with  the  ever-present  chippies  and  their  "Hello, 
Yanks." 

It  looked  like  little  old  New  York  to  Chas.  and 
Steve,  when  we  passed  into  the  flare  and  bustle  of  the 
Savoy.  Then  for  a  dinner  "regardless,"  which  took 
two  hours  to  down,  and  prepared  us  quite  fully  for 
a  night  in  priceless  beds. 

Of  course  getting  up,  at  best,  is  still  getting  up, 
but,  oh,  you  showers!  .  .  . 

To  his  Mother 

^  Savoy  Hotel,  London,  W.  C.  2, 

Friday,  January  18,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Here  we  are,  comfortably  in- 
stalled in  London's  best.  It  seems  very  unreal  and 
strange  to  see  places  and  read  names  that  we  have 
heard  of  all  our  lives — and  it  is  certainly  a  wonderful 
city  to  see  for  the  first  time. 

Our  last  hours  on  board  were  not  tame,  and  so 
passed  well  enough. 

Yesterday  we  lunched  at  the  Adelphi  in  Liverpool, 
and  caught  the  2  p.  m.  for  London.     We  had  lots  of 

[  126  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

nuisance  and  trouble  with  our  baggage,  due  to  every- 
thing being  in  a  jam  and  having  no  known  system  of 
checking,  etc.  I  thanked  my  stars  for  concentration 
on  suitcase  and  one  trunk.  Some  of  the  fellows  have 
two  trunks  (small  ones),  a  canvas  bag,  and  suitcase, 
and  that  makes  for  all  kinds  of  extra  trouble. 

As  there  were  a  dozen  naval  oifficers  en  route, 
London,  a  car  was  provided  for  us.  But  it  was  a 
cold  ride  and  we  were  glad  of  a  cup  of  tea  at  one 
of  the  stations. 

Captain  Van  Alstyne,  the  R.F.C.  flight  com- 
mander, came  through  with  us  all  the  way.  Of 
course  we  got   a  lot  of  good  dope   from  him. 

We  left  and  checked  our  trunks  at  Euston  Station, 
and  taxied  to  the  naval  headquarters,  arriving  there 
by  eight.  Lieutenant-Commander  Stark  was  in 
charge  and  was  most  cordial.  He  did  some  'phoning 
for  rooms  for  us  and  told  us  we  need  not  report 
today.  We  go  tomorrow  at  noon — get  orders  and 
tickets,  etc.,  and  take  a  train  from  Waterloo  Station 
about  4  p.  M.  I  believe  this  may  make  a  mean  trip 
to  Paris,  but  who  cares?     We  recover  fast  enough! 

Gilchrist  Stockton  is  a  Lieutenant  (j.g.)  in  this 
Navy  Office  and  I  expect  to  see  him  tomorrow  at 
noon.     He  is  tremendously  well  spoken  of. 

This  being  a  large  hotel,  accommodations  were 
finally  secured.    A  number  of  others  were  chock  full. 

Jack,  Bobby  and  I  occupy  a  suite  of  two  rooms 
and  bath,  the  others  a  similar  suite.  We  dined  here 
late  last  night  and  went  to  bed  tired  out  after  en- 
joying music  for  a  while. 

This   morning   a   fine    shower   bath   started   things 

[127] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

right.  After  late  breakfast  Chas.  and  I  toured  on 
foot  for  a  while.  Stopped  at  B.  S.  &  Co.  and  left 
"Naval  Attache,  Paris,"  address  for  them  to  forward 
mail.  Also  cashed  a  $50  express  check,  twenty  of  it 
French,  and  thirty  English  money.  It  isn't  half  as 
hard  to  get  on  to  the  English  money  as  we  thought 
it  would  be,  and  it's  twice  as  easy  to  spend! 

After  123  Pall  Mall  we  wandered  down  by  the 
War  Office  and  other  public  buildings.  Arrived  at 
Westminster  Abbey  just  in  time  to  enjoy  the  short 
noon  "Intercessional  Service."  Then  we  explored  the 
Abbey  to  our  mutual  edification  and  enjoyment. 

On  the  way  back  I  purchased  a  chamois  under- 
shirt and  trunks  and  two  pairs  warm  pajamas.  The 
chamois  things,  of  course,  would  not  be  worn  next 
to  the  skin,  but  under  the  uniform  or  other  flying 
clothes.  I  think  they  will  prove  valuable.  Most  of 
my  English  money  went  by  the  board  at  this  store. 
You  know  I  started  short  of  pajamas  and  you  had 
doubts  as  to  my  getting  along.  These  new  ones  are 
fine  and  warm. 

We  lunched  at  one  of  the  many  Lyons  stores — 
chain  of  lunch  rooms.  One  cannot  spend  more  than 
1/  3^.  there,  so  it  is  quite  an  economy  compared  to  the 
Savoy,  where  a  good  dinner  costs  the  better  of  £l. 

We  took  the  Hampstead  tube  to  Euston  and 
arranged  to  have  trunks  transferred  at  Waterloo 
Station;  then  tubed  back  to  Leicester  Square  and 
walked  back  from  there. 

We  stppped  in  at  the  National  Gallery  and  soon 
had  to  leave,  due  to  closing  hour.  Then  at  "Fullers" 
we  had  scones  and  cocoa,  returning  to  the  hotel  for 

[128] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

a  shave,  and  now  writing.  I  think  every  one  of  us 
got  one.  I  said  to  my  barber,  ''Fous  parlez  hien 
r Anglais  pour  un  Francois"  and  he  said,  ''Vous 
parlez  hien  Francois  pour  un  American,''  but  of 
course  he  had  to  say  that! 

Chas.  and  I  have  tickets  for  "The  13th  Chair" 
at  the  Duke  of  York  Theatre — Mrs.  Patrick  Camp- 
bell playing.  It  is  by  the  author  of  "Within  the 
Law."  We  are  enjoying  a  bully  time,  and  we  agree 
that  sightseeing,  as  a  side  issue  to  war,  is  more  fun 
than  sightseeing  j?^r  se.  Of  course  wei  know  we  won't 
get  too  much  of  it! 

In  a  few  days  we  will  be  settled  down  somewhere 
on  the  job  and  saving  money.  I  should  have  quite 
a  bit  coming  to  me  as  it  is  a  month  since  my  last 
pay,  so  there  is  no  danger  of  shortage.  The  fellows 
who  drew  two  months  ahead  and  are  spending  it  are 
liable  to  have  a  thin  time. 

Speaking  of  thin  times,  things  are  certainly  pared 
down  to  war  basis  here — England's  S.  O.  S. — "Save 
or  Starve,"  the  posters  say.  The  place  is  full  of 
officers.  Few  Americans,  as  they  are  concentrated 
outside  of  London  now  when  coming  through. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  the  family. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Booh 

January  21,  1918. 

After  a  beautiful  day  ride  up  the  Seine  valley  and 
part  of  a  day  in  Paris,  the  only  logical  conclusion 
is  to  sup  ''a  la  hohemienne"     Not  very,  but  some. 

[129] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

Anyhow,  Chas.  and  I  decided  that  the  nearest  ap- 
proach was  a  small  French  cafe,  so  we  had  the  garqon 
fetch  ''du  vin  rouge  et  du  pain/'  Being  unimaginative, 
and  equally  unambitious,  he  brought  us  only  that, 
and  nothing  more.  Now,  even  allowing  that  it  takes 
a  fair  drop  or  so  to  wash  down  a  supper  of  dryish 
bread,  we  still  had  more  than  enough  of  the  indifferent 
wine.  But,  mark  you,  it  was  not  on  what,  but  where 
we  feasted  that  counted. 

At  any  rate,  we  walked  briskly  to  and  from  the 
Madeleine  until  I  was  able  to  assure  Charley  that  I 
could  fly  along  a  chalk  mark,  if  necessary,  and  in 
the  future  took  counsel  with  myself,  as  to  the  potency 
of  indifferent  wine. 

To  Ms  Mother 

38  Rue  Vaneau,  Paris, 
January  25,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  It  seems  quite  a  while  since  I 
wrote  in  England,  but  as  usual  I  have  been  expecting 
definite  news  to  write  and  said  news  has  been  delayed. 
At  any  rate,  we  will  be  in  Paris  several  days,  per- 
haps a  couple  of  weeks,  then  we  will  go  to  a  French, 
English  or  Italian  school  or  base.  Not  very  definite, 
is  it?  However,  I  have  been  expecting  to  wire  you 
soon,  and  may  do  so  shortly. 

My  last  letter  was  written  our  day  in  London. 
That  night  Charley  and  I  saw  Mrs.  Pat  Campbell 
in  "The  I3th  Chair."  This  was  well  done,  and  quite 
a  thriller.  Saturday  morning  I  purchased  a  warm, 
brown  wrapper,  packed  up,  and  reported  at  the  office 

[130] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

for  orders  and  transportation.  Looked  up  "Gik" 
Stockton  and  he  had  me  to  lunch  at  the  Embassy. 
We  had  a  very  pleasant  time  which  can  be  renewed 
if  I  go  to  London  again.  Then  I  met  the  others 
and  we  proceeded  via  Waterloo  Station,  and  got  our 
trunks  on  board  for  Havre.  Rather  a  dull  ride  down. 
Supper  on  the  Havre  boat.  Chas.  and  I  had  a  state- 
room together  and  the  other  four  had  one.  The  trip 
was  not  bad.  I  ate  some  MothersilFs  Pills  and  wasn't 
upset  by,  or  in  spite  of  them,  but  neither  was  any  one 
else! 

We  came  to  Havre  fairly  early,  had  breakfast  on 
board  and  reported  at  headquarters.  Then  Chas.  and 
I  toured  the  town  on  foot.  Very  pretty  situation 
and  altogether  just  what  we  expected.  Saw  five  fly- 
ing boats  at  one  point,  but  they  were  not  operating. 
We  lunched  and  loafed  at  the  British  Officers'  Club, 
where  everything  was  very  nice.  Caught  the  Paris 
train  at  12.50  and  had  by  far  the  prettiest  ride  so 
far.  Six  of  us  had  one  big  compartment,  and  part 
of  the  time  two,  so  we  slept  a  good  deal  after  dark, 
but  before  that,  the  afternoon  trip  up  the  Seine 
Valley  was  really  delightful.  We  saw  a  lot  of  the 
old  houses — chaumieres — and  farms  and  picturesque 
things. 

We  were  met  at  St.  Lazarre  and  motored  to  thie 
Hotel  D'lena,  right  by  headquarters.  We  got  set- 
tled and  turned  in  by  midnight. 

Monday  morning  .we  reported  and  presented  our 
credentials  and  orders.  Then  Bobby,  Jack  and  I 
walked  in  rather  a  drizzle  along  the  Seine  and  to  "Les 
Invalides,"  where  we  saw  a  number  of  planes  in  the 

[131] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

courtyard,  including  Guynemeyer's  machine.  La 
Tombe  de  Napoleon  was  closed.  Chas.  and  I  then 
moved  into  this  pension,  38  Rue  Vaneau.  It  is  a 
regular  French  pension,  quite  near  the  Fairchild's 
place  at  Cite  Vaneau.  The  Blair  Fairchild's  are 
Chas.'  uncle  and  aunt.  Chas.  and  I  had  a  little 
supper  in  a  restaurant  near  the  Madeleine,  then  went 
to  the  "Olympia,"  a  sort  of  Keith's,  which  was  enter- 
taining, as  were  also  the  people  there. 

Tuesday,  January  22,  we  reported  for  new  orders 
and  got  them.  These  were  to  take  us  to  Moutchic- 
Lacanau,  Gironde.  A  Naval  Aviation  station  is  es- 
tablished there  on  a  lake  for  training  in  bombing, 
etc.,  and  using  French  types  of  machines.  Mike 
Murray,  Walton  and  others  are  there  already.  It  is 
apparently  quite  a  good  place,  though  still  rather 
undeveloped.  Is  a  summer  resort  for  Bordeaux, 
which  is  thirty  miles  away  by  train.  We  were  fairly 
pleased  to  go  there,  and  there  isn't  much  choice.  It 
should  he  a  pleasant  winter  climate  compared  to  nearer 
the  channel. 

We  started  operations  for  the  collection  of  travel- 
ing expenses  incurred  at  various  points.  It  appears 
that  the  maximum  per  diem  is  $5.00.  So  we  collected 
that  for  the  time  in  London,  and  with  transfer  refunds 
we  managed  as  much  of  a  bill  as  $29.00,  which  is 
nothing  of  course  to  what  the  actual  expenses  were. 
Every  httle  bit  helps,  however,  and  all  the  other 
fellows  were  down  to  rock-bottom  in  funds.  I  still 
have  about  $75.00,  checks,  and  can  draw  pay  here 
now,  so  am  better  off.  The  others,  having  drawn 
$300  in  advance,  and  then  had  two  weeks  to  spend 

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Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

in  New  York,  were  "out  of  luck,"  as  we  say.  But 
they  will  have  pay  coming  due  on  the  30th  of  January. 

Lunched  with  Chas.  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fairchild 
and  Major  Green — Army  Aviation.  After  lunch 
Major  took  all  of  us,  but  Charley,  to  Villa  Couble 
to  the  large  Government  testing  field.  The  place  is 
immense.  Hangars  ''a  perte  de  vue"  and  machines 
galore.  We  saw  all  the  latest  types  of  land  machines, 
including  some  very  fast  ones,  lots  of  Spads  and 
Nieuports. 

Got  back  just  in  time  for  a  small,  special  recital  in 
this  room.  Sam  Dushkin,  Mile.  Goudre,  and  a  clever 
pianist  were  the  performers.  Sam  is  a  young  Russian 
protege  of  Mr.  Fairchild,  and  a  wonder  on  the 
violin.  His  friend  is  a  skilled  pianist,  and  Mile, 
sings  and  acts  out  little  parts  very  cleverly.  She  sings 
a  few  American  ragtime  hits  in  quaint  English.  The 
three  are  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  and  go  to  the  various 
large  camps  where  they  must  afford  tremendous 
entertainment    and    pleasure   to    the    soldiers.      Mile. 

G was  at  the  Odeon  before  going  into  this  work, 

and  Dushkin  was  about  to  make  his  debut  in  1914, 
so  you  see  they  were  real! 

Dushkin,  Charley  and  I  had  supper  here  and  went 
to  the  Casino — music  and  comedy.  Lots  of  Americans 
and  Canadians  there,  "en  permission^  Half  of  the 
show  was  in  English. 

Wednesday  we  got  up  about  noon.  One  never 
could  get  up  unless  absolutely  necessary,  when  caje 
au  lait  and  the  petit  dejeuner  come  right  to  the  bed- 
side! It  is  one  of  the  pleasant  French  customs. 
Charley  is  getting  along  pretty  well  in  his  French, 

[133] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

as  he  had  a  fair  school  and  college  foundation.  The 
others  are  not  progressing  much,  especially  staying  at 
a  hotel.  The  French  currency  is  a  cinch  after  Eng- 
lish. Also  the  exchange  is  quite  favorable,  so  it  is  a 
pleasure  (as  always)  to  have  some  to  exchange. 
Everybody  here  says  that  things  are  doubled  in  price, 
so  there  is  not  as  much  difference  as  usual.  But  at 
that,  the  cash  goes  farther.  And  you  can  Igo  pretty 
good  distances  in  a  taxi  for  2%  francs. 

The  French  soldiers  are  everywhere,  and  officers, 
too.  Lots  of  blue  uniforms  about.  A  few  English — 
Americans  only  near  American  headquarters,  of  vari- 
ous kinds.  Not  veiy  many  cripples  in  evidence.  They 
must  be  out  in  the  country,  or  somewhere  else. 

Dined  at  the  Fairchild's  and  went  to  hear  Gounod's 
"Mireille"  at  the  Opera  Comique.  Quiet  little  opera 
but  very  enjoyable.  Good  voices;  house  full.  More 
French  officers  and,  of  course,  a  much  more  attractive 
class  of  people  were  there. 

The  Fairchilds  have  a  small  but  snug  apartment  at 
No.  3  Cite  Vaneau,  and  have  very  delicious  dinners. 
Both  are  doing  various  Red  Cross  work  with  Mrs. 
Edith  Wharton's  committee,  I  think.  If  you  ever 
needed  anything  in  the  way  of  special  news  of  me,  etc., 
Mr.  Fairchild  would  be  glad  to  do  anything  at  all.  He 
is  very  kind,  and  both  are  delightful  people,  so  it  is 
doubly  nice  to  be  taken  along  by  them  as  Charley's 
friend. 

Yesterday  on  reporting  at  headquarters  we  had 
orders  revoked,  due  to  some  epidemic  at  Moutchic. 
We  were  to  have  gone  this  morning  so  it  was  lucky 
to  find  out  in  time.    Fussed  around  with  our  expense 

[  134  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Eootracts 

account  business.  In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  the 
aviation  field  at  Villa  Couble  again  with  Major  Green 
and  Colonel  Boiling.  Inquired  at  headquarters  for 
various  people — John  Mitchell,  Don  Woodbridge 
and  others,  but  unable  to  locate  same.  Stopped  at 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Mr.  Hawes  is  out  somewhere  at 
the  front  with  the  Foyer  du  Soldat,  French  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Saw  one  or  two  fellows  who  knew  some  I 
knew.  Dined  again  at  No.  3  Cite  Vaneau,  and  spent 
a  quiet  evening  there.  Reported  at  headquarters 
9  o'clock  this  morning.  Our  new  orders  simply 
keep  us  in  Paris  for  an  unknown  period,  ostensibly 
on  duty  at  the  office,  but  actually  only  required  to 
report  at  9  a.  m.  This  is  fine  for  Chas.  and  me  as 
we  have  lots  to  do,  and  have  hardly  begun  to  go 
around  yet  and  see  anything. 

It  is  possible  that  we  may  be  sent  back  to  England 
to  a  school  or  to  Italy — or  perhaps  we  will  just  wait 
here  until  everything  is  O.K.  at  Moutchic.  (I  think 
it  is  just  mumps  there.)  So  it  is,  as  usual,  a  matter 
of  simply  carrying  on  to  best  advantage  and  letting 
the  future  care  for  itself. 

We  saw  Lieutenant  McDonnell  at  headquarters. 
He  had  been  at  Moutchic,  and  had  much  of  interest 
to  tell  us  about  aviation  there.  He  is  coming  to  the 
Fairchilds  to  dinner  tonight,  then  we  will  all  go  to 
Folies  Bergeres  as  a  relief  from  opera!  We  almost 
went  to  Le  Grand  Guignol,  but  Mrs.  Fairchild  re- 
belled at  the  "horreures"  advertised. 

Walked  down  through  the  "Champs"  with  Bob  and 
Jack  from  the  Rond  Point,  then  on  through  the 
Tuileries.    By  the  use  of  a  good  map,  I  have  gotten 

[  135  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

a  fair  working  knowledge  of  the  central  part  of  Paris 
and  how  to  use  the  Metro  and  Nord-Sud.  We  use 
the  Solferino  Station  here. 

Paris  is  certainly  handsome.  In  spring  and  sum- 
mer it  must  be  beautiful.  Seems  just  the  only  city 
I  know  of  that  has  anywhere  near  enough  parks  and 
wide  enough  streets.  Given  a  few  more  days  and 
Chas.  and  I  will  see  quite  a  few  more  of  the  im- 
portant things.  This  is  a  fine  afternoon  but  we  were 
both  rather  tired,  having  hoofed  it  most  of  the 
morning. 

I  have  used  up  about  half  of  your  writing-pad  and 
don't  know  whether  all  of  these  sheets  will  go  in  one 
envelope,  but  there  is  nothing  like  trying. 

Hope  all  are  well  in  Jax  and  Philadelphia.  Wish 
I  could  write  to  every  one,  but  it  would  only  be  a 
repetition  and  takes  considerable  time! 

Love  to  all  the  family  and  loads  for  Ma  Velvet. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Hotel  D'Iena,  Paris, 
January  26. 

P.S. — Received  orders  this  morning.  We  report 
back  to  London  and  will  be  sent  to  a  station  to  work 
with  members  of  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service 
(R.  N.  A.  S.).  This  is  very  fine  and  promises  well 
for  good  equipment  and  an  opportunity  to  use  it. 

We  move  from  here  Monday.  I  am  going  to 
investigate  cables  and,  if  practicable,  send  you  one 
giving  London  headquarters.  Address,  U.  S.  Naval 
Headquarters,  30  Grosvenor  Gardens,  London. 

[136] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

This  is  another  fine  day.    I  am  bound  for  30  Boule- 
vard Hausmann,  and  then  Notre  Dame. 

Love, 

Ben. 


British  Officers'  Club,  Havre,  France, 

A.  P.  O.,  No.  1,  B.  E.  F., 

Wednesday,  January  30,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  We  are  enjoying  a  quiet  day 
at  this  Club,  whose  hospitality  is  extended  to  Ameri- 
can officers.  I  wrote  of  lunching  here  with  Charley 
on  the  way  in. 

Saturday  I  went  to  the  ends  of  Paris  to  send  you 
a  cable,  as  follows,  addressed  Chase  &  Co.: 

"Write  Brown   Shipley  London  All  well     Love." 

I  then  went  to  another  office  and  cabled  B.  S.  to 
hold  mail.  Also  stopped  in  at  Notre  Dame,  and 
walked  back  through  the  old  Cite,  and  along  the 
quais. 

Charley  and  I  dined  at  the  Fairchild's  and  again 
lunched  there  Sunday,  then  we  went  to  the  Sym- 
phony Orchestra.  In  the  evening  Chas.  and  I  went 
to  "Thais"  at  I'Opera.  Monday  we  had  to  fuss 
around  headquarters  for  transportation  and  tickets, 
etc.,  then  we  lunched  and  dined  at  the  Fairchild's. 
You  can  see  what  a  large  part  they  have  played  in 
our  enjoyment  of  Paris.  I  got  to  feel  very  much  at 
home  there  and  liked  them  very  much  indeed. 

Monday  morning  we  rose  at  six  and  caught  the 
7.30  train,  after  the  usual  trouble  in  getting  trunks 

[137] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

on  board.  This  train  apparently  was  an  express,  so 
we  made  excellent  time,  arriving  there  easily  by  noon. 
However,  the  boat  from  Havre  to  Southampton  was 
already  booked  full,  so  we  had  to  wait  over  one  day. 
Spent  the  night  at  rather  a  poor  hotel — ^the  best 
here — and  reported  again  at  local  headquarters  at 
10  A.  M.  Berths  are  reserved  for  us  tonight,  so  we 
should  reach  London  by  noon  tomorrow.  It  is  our 
expectation  only  to  be  there  a  short  time  before  we 
are  sent  to  one  of  the  channel  bases  operated  by  the 
Royal  Naval  Air  Service. 

Yesterday  we  introduced  ourselves  at  the  local 
flying  base  and  had  a  talk  with  a  French  flight  lieu- 
tenant. We  have  seen  several  flying-boats  and  sev- 
eral blimps  on  patrol  duty.  Two  blimps  (dirigible 
balloons)  looked  very  fantastic  last  night  as  they 
came  in  through  a  pink  mist  at  sunset.  The  harbor 
was  beautiful  then,  with  the  headland  almost  lost 
in  fog. 

Today  is  sunny  and  moderate, — regular  Jax  winter 
weather.    We  are  going  out  for  a  walk  now. 

Love  to  all  the  family. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

Havre  to  Southampton, 
January  31,  1918. 

Mine  was  a  cabin  in  the  geometric  center  of  the 
packet  boat — one  of  eight  in  a  large  room,  and  very 
uncomfortable  looking  it  was,  too.  By  mere  joss 
Charley   had   secured   one    down   forward   with   two 

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Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Eartracts 

Army  officers,  so  when  we  had  walked  the  deck  for 
an  hour  and  failed  to  work  out  the  pain  from  my 
back,  he  offered  an  exchange,  which  was  gratefully 
accepted. 

He  helped  me  to  undress  and  climb  in  for  the 
night.  The  two  officers  seemed  sympathetic  enough 
and  offered  to  help  in  any  way,  but  I  inot  knowing 
what  was  wrong,  knew  no  more  what  would  cure. 

The  night  seemed  rather  long,  as  I  only  slept  two 
hours  and  could  not  toss.  By  morning,  to  move  was 
agony.  Fortunately  for  me  the  old  packet  still  lay 
at  her  dock  in  Havre,  so  I  had  the  day  ahead  of  me. 

It  had  been  growing  on  me  that  the  van  Dyke- 
bearded  doctor  (so  his  friend  called  him)  was  familiar 
in  feature.  Finally  I  ventured,  "Do  you  happen  to 
be  Dr.  de  Schweinitz?"  My  memory  had  served  me 
fair,  for  I  had  seen  him  operate  once  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  hospital  (incidentally  seeing 
the  job  from  a  balcony  outside  his  and  Jimmy 
Wharton's  windows — Jimmy  being  there  for  his  eye 
cure). 

At  any  rate  my  suggestion  of  rheumatism  or 
lumbago  (thinking  of  Daddy's  "backs")  was  ap- 
proved, and  Dr.  de  Schweinitz  fed  me  on  aspirin. 
Later  we  had  a  long  chat  about  our  mutual  friends, 
Wharton,  Shorty  How,  and  the  little  doctors  (Bud 
and  Em).  The  final  decision  was  awarded  to  aspirin 
vs.  pension  wine,  and  I  vowed  again  to  watch  out 
for  bad  wine.  It  was  not  the  quantity,  and  perhaps 
not  the  quality  or  lack  of  it,  that  did  the  damage, 
but  merely  my  organic  lack  of  acclimation  to  alcohol 
in  general. 

[  139  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

So  we  arrived  back  in  England  glad  to  get  there, 
and  feeling  unduly  privileged  at  having  had  a  week 
in  France  just  to  enjoy  it.  On  arriving  in  London, 
for  me  at  least,  there  was  the  added  joy  of  a  good 
baker's  dozen  of  letters. 

To  his  Mother 

Savoy  Hotel,  London,  W.  C.  2, 
Sunday,  February  3,  1918. 
5    p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  What  a  joy  it  was  to  find  a 
bundle  of  letters  waiting  for  me  at  B.  S.  Co.  yes- 
terday! There  were  four  from  you,  four  from  Ruth, 
and  one  each  from  Cousins  Anna  Grayson  and  Sophie 
Steel.  This  was  my  first  word  from  home  since 
sailing,  you  know,  and  it  was  a  wonderful  pleasure. 

Your  letters  were  the  last  two  addressed  tq  Kennett 
Square,  and  the  first  two  addressed  B.  S.  Co.,  num- 
bered 1  and  2,  of  January  8th  and  9th. 

I  supposed  from  then  on  you  may  have  written  to 
the  Naval  Attache,  Paris,  and  I  probably  won't  get 
them  for  weeks.  I  find  that  mail  coming  through 
Government  routes  to  such  addresses  is  hopelessly 
slow,  and  so  will  use  Brown  Shipley  entirely  as  per 
my  wire  to  you  of  ten  days  ago.  Ruth  kept  on  with 
some  to  B.  S.  &  Co.,  so  the  latest  from  her  is  dated 
January  17,  after  receiving  word  of  our  arrival.  I'm 
certainly  glad  that  notice  came  through  so  promptly 
to  you  all.  It  must  have  been  relieving.  When  I 
returned  to  the  hotel  my  letters  caused  great  excite- 
ment. 

At   this   point   I   was   interrupted   and   unable    to 

[  140  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

resume  writing  until  2  p.  m.,  Monday,   February  4, 
I  will  explain  why  later. 

All  the  fellows  wished  they  had  thought  of  using 
a  banker  for  letters.  Charley  is  the  only  other  one 
to  hear  from  home. 

Today  Charley  brought  me  two  more  letters  from 
you,  Nos.  3  and  4,  and  three  from  Ruth,  one  from 
Jus,  one  from  Paul,  and  one  from  Cornelia  Cheston. 
So  you  see  I'm  faring  very  well  indeed.  Also  a 
letter  from  Daddy,  reforwarded  from  the  McAlpin, 
which  was  equally  welcome,  though  dated  December 
28.  Now  that  I'm  to  be  separated  from  the  "bunch," 
it  is  very  fine  to  be  hearing  from  home.  I  suppose 
I  can  expect  to  hear  at  least  every  week  now  from 
you  and  Ruth,  even  allowing  for  delays  in  forwarding. 

I  am  enclosing  a  schedule  showing  our  trip  to  date, 
in  case  some  of  my  letters  haven't  come  through. 
I'm  making  a  noble  effort  but  the  interruptions  are 
many.  Kenneth  McLeish  is  here  now,  telling  about 
his  experiences  to  date  in  a  big  English  school  under 
the  Royal  Flying  Corps  for  training.  He  was  at 
Norfolk  f oi^  some  time.  Result — it  is  now  5  p.  m.  and 
no  progress. 

I  wrote  last  from  the  Officers'  Club,  Havre.  We 
spent  a  couple  of  pleasant  days  waiting  for  passage. 
Several  times  we  took  long  walks  out  to  the  head- 
lands and  watched  the  planes  and  blimps  come  in  at 
sunset.     We  really  enjoyed  it  very  much.     By  this 

[141] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

time  every  one  else  was  out  of  cash,  but  fortunately 
I  still  had  some  travelers'  checks. 

We  finally  got  berths  Thursday  night  and  slept  on 
board.  I  had  a  stateroom  with  two  doctors,  Major 
George  de  Schweinitz  being  one  of  them.  The  other 
was  a  Bostonian,  who  knew  Mr.  Hawes. 

A  sort  of  rheumatism  that  had  been  coming  on 
grew  acute  that  night,  so  Dr.  de  Schweinitz  kindly 
fed  me  some  aspirin  which  went  to  the  right  spot. 
He  thought  that  the  unaccustomed  wine  which  we 
got  at  the  "pension"  perhaps  had  something  to  do  with 
it.  So  I'm  "off"  it  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  one  is 
expected  to  consume  no  water  over  here! 

At  any  rate,  after  a  poor  night,  I  was  soon  on  the 
mend,  and  by  the  time  we  reached  Southampton  I 
was  O.K.  We  reached  London  in  time  for  a  good 
supper,  and  stayed  at  the  Savoy  to  get  one  night  of 
sure-nuf  comfort  and  baths.  Next  day  we  reported 
at  30  Grosvenor  Square  for  orders.  I  saw  "Gik" 
Stockton  again  and  had  a  pleasant  chat.  We  learned 
our  several  allotments.  Bobby  Stocker  and  Steve 
Stone  are  to  go  near  Southampton.  Jack  Foster  and 
Chas.  go  to  Dundee.  Lyman  Peck  and  I  to  one  of 
the  Devonshire  Stations.  I  shall  not  be  far  from 
where  Cousin  Sophie  Steel  is  staying,  at  Falmouth, 
and  might  have  a  chance  to  get  over  some  Sunday. 
Of  course  Chas.  and  I  are  especially  disappointed  to 
be!  separated,  but  we  think  it  will  perhaps  be  a  matter 
of  three  or  four  months  until  we  go  back  to  some 
station  in  France.  In  the  meantime  we  will  get 
splendid  training  in  the  R.;  N.  A.  S. 

[  142  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Peck  is  sick  in  Paris,  but  should  join  me  at  the 
R.  N.  A.  S.  Station  soon. 

Saturday  night,  Bobby,  Jack  and  I  went  to  the 
"13th  Chair,"  which  I  had  seen  before,  but  enjoyed 
all  the  more.  We  stayed  that  night  at  Haxeir$  Hotel, 
which  Steve  picked  to  be  more  reasonable. 

Sunday  we  walked  up  to  London  Bridge  and 
around  the  streets  a  bit.  After  lunch  Chas.  and  I 
went  up  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  for  the  afternoon 
service.  It  was  very  beautifully  sung  and  in  a  won- 
derful setting.  Then  we  returned  to  the  Savoy  to 
write  a  few  letters.  That  is  when  I  started  this  letter. 
Steve  Stone  had  been  in  bed  all  day  with  a  cold, 
but  got  up  to  be  near  a  fire,  as  there  was  none  in 
his  room.  He  got  chills,  so  we  decided  to  move  to 
the  Regent  Palace  Hotel.  We  'phoned,  then  taxied 
over,  and  put  Steve  right  to  bed  with  an  electric 
stove.  The  house  doctor  prescribed  for  him.  He  has 
what  they  call  Trench  Fever — a  kind  of  grip  and 
pleurisy.  He  had  104"  temperature  last  night  but 
has  picked  up  a  lot,  and  woke  up  today  feeling  much 
better.  A  navy  doctor  called  today  and  O.K.'d  every- 
thing done  for  Steve  to  date.  I  think  he  will  be  on 
his  feet  by  tomorrow  or  next  day. 

We  have  been  travelling  so  much,  and  moving  from 
hotel  to  hotel  in  different  cities  and  climates,  that  we 
all  feel  the  need  of  getting  settled  down  for  !a  good, 
quiet,  long  time  in  one  place.  Needless  to  add,  we 
are  all  eager  %o  get  to  work,  and  the  prospect  of  doing 
so  within  the  week  is  most  encouraging. 

This  morning  we  reported  for  written  orders  at 
30  G.  G.,  then  spent  a  couple  of  hours  with  the  pay- 

[  143  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

masters  over  expense  accounts,  transfer  of  pay  ac- 
counts, etc.  Another  half  day  will  be  necessary  to- 
morrow before  we  can  get  all  straight,  perhaps  even 
more  time.  The  red  tape  even  in  war  time!  It's 
unbelievable. 

I  had  lunch  here  (at  the  Regent  Palace)  quietly, 
with  Steve  in  our  room,  and  spent  the  afternoon 
chatting  and  writing,  interrupted  frequently  as  I  have 
said.  Now  it  is  9.30  p.  m.  I  have  a  bath  scheduled 
for  10.30,  and  so  hope  for  an  unbroken  hour  to 
write.  Will  try  mailing  this  at  30  G.  G.,  and  have 
it  censored  there,  as  there  is  much  news  of  inter- 
est to  you  which  might  of  course  be  cut  out  by  a 
British  censor.  You  will  be  interested  to  know  that 
all  but  two  or  three  of  the  letters  from  the  United 
States  were  opened  by  the  censor,  but  nothing 
deleted. 

If  any  of  mine  are  censored  it  will  simply  be  due 
to  my  having  mentioned  too  many  names  of  places, 
dates,  or  incidents. 

You've  no  idea  how  getting  your  letters  and  the 
others  have  "bucked  me,"  as  they  say  here.  It  is 
perfectly  bully  to  be  in  touch  again.  I  am  awfully 
glad  that  steamer  letter  of  mine  got  to  you,  and 
the  cable  promptly,  too.  I  have  noted  dates  of 
my  writing,  and  so  when  I  hear  which  letters  get 
through  will  know  the  best  way  to  send  them, 
Le,,  through  the  Navy  or  British  Post.  I  will  send 
this  Navy. 

Lots  and  lots  of  love  to  every  one  that  wants  it. 
Perhaps  I'll  have  more  time  for  other  letters  than 

[  144  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

yours  and  Ruth's  when  at  my  new  station,  but,  any- 
how, oodles  of  love  for  Ma  Velvet  and  family. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — This  letter  is  for  news.  I'll  read  yours  for 
the  fifth  time  and  write  again. 

This  is  a  memo.,  jotted  after  reference  to  my  line-a- 
day,  showing  our  moves  to  and  fro: 

Docked  at  Liverpool.     Train  to  London. 

London.     Hotel  Savoy.     Sightseeing  and  headquarters. 

London.     Southampton. 

Havre  to  Paris.     Hotel  d'lena. 

Paris  Headquarters.     Moved  to  Pension. 
22-28.    Paris.    Reported  daily. 

Paris  to  Havre.     Hotel  Moderne. 

Havre.    British  Officers*  Club. 

Havre.     Cabin  with  Dr.  de  Schweinitz. 

Southampton  to  London.     Savoy  Hotel. 

London.     Received  letters.     Reported  headquarters. 

London.    Service  at  St.  Paul's  with  Chas.    Regent  Hotel. 

London.     Reported  for  orders.     Wrote  all  p.  m.  (except 
when  frequently  interrupted). 
"       5.     Reported  headquarters,   a.  m.      (Written  night  before.) 
If  a  good  day  will  go  to  an  Army  Field  with  Ken 
McLeish,  one  of  the  Palm  Beach  Yale  bunch. 

RAIDS 

How  queer  it  was!  We  left  London  just  before 
one  air  raid.  Left  Paris  one  day  before  the  biggest 
raid  there  yet,  and  due  to  delay  in  Havre  missed  an- 
other in  London  by  one  day !  No  doubt  the  American 
papers  have  better  accounts  than  we  got  here,  so  I 
won't  elaborate. 

[  145  ] 


Jan. 

17. 

(( 

18. 

€t 

19. 

« 

20. 

it 

21. 

tt 

22- 

tt 

29. 

It 

30. 

tt 

31. 

Feb. 

1. 

<< 

2. 

tt 

3. 

tt 

4. 

Benjamin  Lee,  2d 
From  Note-Booh 

CaTTE WATER,  NEAR  PLYMOUTH. 

February  fog,  rain  and  mud  were  the  striking  fea- 
tures of  R.  N.  Air  Station,  Cattewater,  as  I  plugged 
along  on  foot  carrying  a  suit-case  which  seemed  to  be 
bungied  to  the  road. 

A  friendly  Observer-Lieutenant,  Croke  by  name, 
led  me  to  his  cabin  and  steamed  me  out.  Then  he  in- 
troduced me  to  the  officers  in  the  mess,  including 
Sketchley,  Calloway,  Harrison,  and  little  Lushing- 
ton,  all  of  whom  I  was  to  see  a  good  deal  of.  The 
English  accent  and  R.  N.  A.  S.  lingo  was  all  new 
and  fascinating,  as  was  also  the  talk  of  long  four- 
hour  patrols  and  substraffing. 

Next  morning  at  breakfast  an  older-looking,  seed- 
ily-dressed,  two-striper  Lieutenant  quizzed  me  a  bit. 
Fortunately,  I  did  not  take  offence,  though  I  could 
not  at  first  quite  "get"  his  attitude.  Then  I  realized 
that  he  was  J.  S.  Mills,!  the  1st  Lieutenant,  or  "Num- 
ber One,"  as  usually  called  by  the  Limies.  Mills  was 
later  my  Commanding  Officer  at  Newlyn.  I  have 
been  remarkably  fortunate  in  my  C.  O.s  over  here, 
and  Mills  was  a  good  one  for  a  starter. 

A  FEW  R.  N.  A.  S.  EXPRESSIONS  AND  THEIR 
INTERPRETATIONS 
Hichhoo — excitement,  special  stunt,  air  raid,  etc. 
Beef  Trip — a  convoy  to  Holland. 
Full  out — enthusiastic. 
Dud — no  good — rotten. 
Wash  out — cancel,  or  worthless  if  a  pilot. 
Konk — engine  breaks  down. 
Wind  up  (to  get  the) — scared,  nervous. 

[  146  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Ecctracts 

Deleted — crashed  or  crossed  o£P  the  list. 

Flip — a  flight. 

A  spot  of — a  bit  of  leave,  a  drink. 

Cheerio — good  luck,  so  long. 

Wangle — to  "work"  or  arrange  by  graft,  persuasion  or  diplomacy. 

Limey — the  American  Jacky's  name  for  the  Englishmen. 

To  Ms  Mother 

Southwestern  Hotel,  Southampton, 

Monday,  February   11,   1918. 

8.45  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  son  is  a  wanderer  for 
fair,  and  when  you  read  of  my  travels  you  will  agree 
that  the  slogan  is  not  far  from  wrong:  "Join  the 
Navy  and  see  the  World." 

We  got  our  orders  Monday,  pay  and  expenses 
Tuesday,  the  3d,  and  proceeded  Wednesday.  I  left 
for  Plymouth  on  the  eleven  o'clock,  and  Chas.  saw 
me  off  from  Waterloo  Station.  His  was  to  be  a 
night  train. 

The  trip  down  through  southern  England  was 
rather  pretty,  but  long.  Made  Plymouth  by  5.30 
and  took  a  local  to  a  station  nearer  the  R.  N.  A.  S. 
base,  arriving  there  5A5,  It  was  raining,  and  the 
mud  was  inches  deep  during  an  additional  ten-minutes' 
walk,  lugging  my  suit-case.  However,  I  was  warmly 
welcomed  by  a  couple  of  flight-lieutenants,  who 
warmed  me  up  in  their  room  and  found  me  a  cabin. 
(Note  nautical  term.)  The  quarters  are  plain  but 
clean.  Room  small,  large  enough  for  bed,  trunk, 
wash-stand  and  a  couple  of  chairs,  not  to  mention 
coal  stove,  which  is  invaluable.  The  cabins  run  about 
fifteen  to  a  hut,  the  huts  being  long  concrete  walls  and 

[  147  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

sheet-iron  roofs.  The  whole  place  is  just  "in  process," 
as  was  ours  at  Norfolk. 

In  another  building  I  enjoyed  dinner,  and  the 
ward-room  lounge  afterwards.  There  are  some 
twenty-four  officers  regularly  stationed  there,  chiefly 
pilots  and  observers,  all  lieutenants  or  sub-lieutenants. 
Sub-lieutenant  equivalent  to  Ensign.  They  are  agree- 
ably like  any  other  bunch  of  young  fellows,  and  as 
interested  in  me  as  I  was  in  them,  so  we  got  along  O.K. 

Next  morning  I  reported  to  Lieutenant  Mills,  who 
was  in  charge — very  nice  fellow. 

The  day  being  bad,  there  was  no  flying  of  conse- 
quence. I  investigated  around  through  the  mud. 
The  equipment  is  fair  and,  given  good  weather,  the 
station  can  carry  on  a  reasonable  amount  of  patrolling. 

Friday  and  Saturday  not  much  doing.  I  studied 
up  a  bit  on  some  maps  and  courses  but  didn't  get 
down  to  the  motors.  Saturday  I  had  a  five-minutes' 
ride  as  passenger  with  Flight-Lieutenant  Woolver. 
He  was  testing  the  machine,  but  found  the  wind  too 
stiff  and  rough  to  make  much  progress. 

In  the  meantime  three  other  ensigns  showed  up, 
Pensacolans,  one  of  whom  I  had  met  at  the  Savoy. 
It  makes  me  sore  to  think  that,  after  all,  our  bunch 
could  have  been  kept  practically  intact  by  a  little  head 
work  on  the  part  of  headquarters.  These  fellows  are 
all  right,  but  not  particularly  interesting. 

My  trunk  came  day  after  I  did,  so  I  had  all  the 
comforts,  and  got  out  my  heavy  Army  shoes,  bought 
in  Philadelphia.  Even  these  were  not  heavier  than 
the  English  wear.  They  expect  the  mud  and  don't 
seem  to  mind  it. 

[  148  1 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Eartracts 

There  was  a  wire  received  that  two  machines  were 
ready  for  delivery  at  one  of  the  factories  at  the  Isle 
of  Wight.  Flight-Lieutenant  Sketchley  planned  to 
go  for  one  and  Flight-Lieutenant  Lushington  for  the 
other.  Sketchley  got  permission  to  take  me  as  pas- 
senger-observer for  the  return  trip.  We  then  heard 
that  only  one  machine  was  ready,  so  Sketchley  and  I 
left  Sunday  at  11  a.  m.  We  changed  at  Salisbury, 
with  an  hour's  wait,  and  again  at  some  dinky  place. 
The  trains  were  fearfully  local,  so  we  did  not  get  into 
Southampton  until  nine  last  night.  Got  supper  and 
had  a  good  sleep.  The  trip  do^vn  was  quite  interest- 
ing, it  being  beautiful  weather,  and  of  course  passing 
through  much  of  the  prettiest  country  in  England. 
Also,  we  had  several  interesting  Australian  officers 
aboard  to  Salisbury.  Sketchley  is  a  good  companion 
— a  Londoner — about  twenty  years  old.  Has  been 
in  since  September,  1915. 

We  had  breakfast  here  and  caught  the  8.20  boat 
for  Cowes,  arriving  there  an  hour  later.  We  went  to 
the  famous  Fountain  Hotel,  where  at  once  our  jour- 
ney met  with  disaster.  There  was  a  pilot  from  an- 
other station  with  instructions  to  fly  this  same  machine 
(or  "ferry  it,"  as  they  say)  and  deliver  to  our  station. 
He  had  been  waiting  two  days  already  for  good 
weather. 

We  proceeded  to  the  factory  headquarters  and 
Sketchley  sent  a  wire  to  our  C.  O.  for  instructions. 
We  then  proceeded  by  boat  to  another  branch  of  the 
factory,  up  the  river,  through  some  famous  ship- 
building docks.  Saw  the  plane  that  was  to  have 
carried  us  back  to  Plymouth  in  three  hours   along 

[  149  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

the  coast.  But  we  were  out  of  luck.  We  stopped 
at  "The  Folly,"  a  quaint  tavern,  kept  by  an  old 
sailor,  where  Sketchley  had  stayed  several  times  on 
previous  ferrying  trips.  Then  we  returned  to  Cowes 
and  the  Fountain  Inn  to  await  a  wire.  Finally  we 
took  the  6  p.  m.  boat  back  to  Southampton.  First  I 
'phoned  to  another  R.  N.  A.  S.  base  to  speak  to 
Bobby  Stocker  and  Steve  Stone,  but  couldn't  get 
them.  From  the  hotel  here,  however,  I  got  in  touch 
and  talked  to  Steve.  It  was  impossible  for  them  to 
get  to  town  by  that  time. 

While  Sketchley  and  I  were  having  supper  the 
wire  came,  telling  us  to  return  to  Plymouth.  Train 
service  is  so  upset  that  the  best  dope  seemed  to  be 
to  return  via  London,  rather  than  by  the  terribly 
long  cross-country  day  trip.  We  will  catch  the  good 
midnight  train  out  tomorrow  night,  which  will  give 
Sketchley  a  little  time  in  London  as  a  reward  for 
his  disappointment.  I  think  I  may  run  down  to  see 
Bobby  and  Steve  and  another  base,  getting  to  Lon- 
don in  the  p.  m.  As  we  travel  on  a  Navy  warrant 
this  is  not  very  expensive.  I  expect  "Sketch"  can 
collect  all  his  collateral  living  expenses,  but  probably 
I  won't. 

It  was  a  big  disappointment  to  get  done  out  of  our 
trip  back,  and  we  were  rather  sore  about  it;  especially 
as  things  are  pretty  dead  at  the  base  and  these  ferry- 
ing trips  are  considered  plums.  I  almost  came  to  the 
conclusion  I  was  of  more  use  in  Norfolk!  But  no 
doubt  will  get  some  encouraging  flying  in  a  week  or 
so.  To  date  the  machines  I  will  fly  have  nothing 
particularly  radical  about  them,  and  should  be  easily 

[150] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Eoctraets 

mastered.    They  are  quite  similar  to  the  R-6  machines 
we  used. 

Just  before  leaving  Plymouth  I  received  a  batch 
of  letters  from  B.  S.  &  Co.,  including  three  from 
you,  the  latest  dated  January  22,  which  made  excel- 
lent time. 

I  read  them  and  enclosures  over  a  considerable  part 
of  the  journey  and,  needless  to  say,  enjoyed  them 
keenly.  Yes,  all  letters  but  two  or  three  have  been 
read  by  the  censor  but  nothing  marked  out. 

The  mess  is  good,  and  wej  get  better  food,  including 
butter  once  a  day  and  sugar,  than  can  be  secured  at 
hotels  or  restaurants.  Also  roast  beef  often,  lunch 
and  dinner  both. 

This  pen  doesn't  "fount"  very  well.  In  fact  it  often 
drives  me  to  distraction,  and  to  dipping  it  into  ink- 
wells, which  I  despise  doing.  However,  it  usually 
"comes  across"  when  I  have  to  make  a  memo.,  and 
there  is  no  other  ink  handy. 

When  I  get  back  to  the  base  I  will  take  a  day  off 
soon  to  read  all  your  letters  and  answer  questions, 
for  I  can't  remember  them  unless  just  read.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  perhaps  there  are  not  many  to  answer. 

I'm  very  well, — enjoying  things  as  they  come  along, 
— cursing  the  inefficiency  of  the  Royal  Navy  as  we 
used  to  do  our  own,  and  hoping  for  lots  of  flying  to 
do  in  the  near  future.  And,  believe  me,  I  wouldn't 
mind  getting  back  to  the  United  States  any  time  at 
all. 

However,  this  south  of  England  climate  is  milder 

[151] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

than  Norfolk,   and   spring  should   come   along  in  a 
couple  of  months. 

It  is  time  to  turn  in.  I  will  try  to  mail  this  via 
U.  S.  Navy,  London.    Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Very  affectionately, 

Ben. 

Cattewater,  near  Plymouth, 
R.  N.  Air  Station, 
February  14,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  finds  me  back  at  head- 
quarters after  the  rather  disappointing  trip  to  South- 
ampton about  which  I  wrote  you  from  there  in  letter 
No.  9.  .  .  . 

I  caught  the  three  o'clock  to  London  (February 
12),  feeling  much  cheered  up  by  the  time  spent  with 
members  of  the  "home  team."  Stopped  at  Navy 
Headquarters,  30  Grosvenor  Gardens,  and  saw  Gik 
Stockton  for  a  minute,  and  Lieutenant  Edwards,  our 
immediate  superior.  Went  to  the  American  Officers' 
Inn  for  supper,  and  found  it  to  be  a  corking  place. 
Stayed  the  evening.  It  is  run  nominally  by  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  but  really  by  a  number  of  American 
dfficers'  wives  and  their  English  friends.  They  do 
everything  to  make  visitors  at  home,  and  frequently 
provide  entertainment.  There  was  a  small  dance 
there.  Mrs.  Phipps  and  guitar  entertained  all  hands. 
She  was  one  of  three  famous  Virginia  beauties,  at 
one  time  much  talked  of. 

Taxied  to  Paddington  Station  and  joined  Sketch- 
ley.  We  got  a  couple  of  beds  at  the  last  minute,  as 
some  people  did  not  show  up,  and  so  travelled  quite 

[  162] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

comfortably  from  midnight  to  7  a.  m.,  breakfasting 
here  at  the  base. 

,  There  wasn't  much  doing  yesterday.  To-day  is  by 
far  the  finest  since  my  arrival.  Warm,  sunny,  and 
not  too  much  wind.  I  turned  in  after  five  o'clock 
tea  yesterday  afternoon,  and  after  a  fine  hot  bath, 
so  feel  rested  to  the  limit  and  ready  for  an  instruction 
hop  on  a  Short  this  p.  m.  The  other  three  Americans 
here  agree  with  me  that  for  efficiency  our  bases  had 
it  over  this  one  "like  a  tent,"  and  we  wonder  how 
they  can  muddle  along  so  when  at  war.  Of  course 
this  base  is  a  nice  safe  distance  from  anything  ap- 
proaching activity! 

Stanley  and  I,  after  a  few  solos  on  Short  Seaplanes, 
will  go  to  a  smaller  station  for  actual  patrol  flights. 
We  will  not  be  far  from  Land's  End.  This  station, 
I  am  told,  is  quite  a  nice  one,  so  we  look  forward 
to  moving. 

After  drawing  my  Navy  pay  I  replenished  travel- 
lers' checks  rather  than  open  an  account  £  s.  d,  at 
B.  S.  &  Co.  • 

At  last  I've  had  laundry  done,  and  nicely  too,  so 
I'm  stocked  for  quite  a  while. 

A  photo  of  Jus  and  a  group,  including  you, 
arrived  with  three  letters  just  before  I  left  for 
Southampton.  Thanks  ever  so  much  for  sending 
them  on. 

Your  letters  are  always  opened,  but  nothing  marked 
out.  Yours  all  received,  including  No.  8,  January 
22,  except  No.  5,  which  you  say  went  to  Paris. 

It  is  lunch  time,  and  if  I  don't  go  right  in  will 

[163] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

have  to  wait  an  hour,  so  will  try  to  get  this  right  oj0f. 
Love  to  Nana,  and  Daddy,  and  Cece. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Cattewater,  near  Plymouth, 
February   19,   1918. 

Dearest  Mothee:  Thinking  that  I  was  going  to 
move  to  a  near-by  station  soon  I  notified  B.  S.  &  Co., 
so  have  received  no  letters  for  several  days.  How- 
ever, there  should  be  a  number  from  you  and  Ruth 
when  I  do  get  there.  If  we  have  a  day  or  so  of  good 
weather  for  a  few  more  flights  here,  Stanley  and  I 
will  go  down.  We  are  now  considered  lucky  to  be 
going,  due  to  the  desirability  of  the  new  station  in 
many  ways,  and  because  the  less  popular  officer  in 
command  of  that  station  is  coming  here,  exchanging 
with  ours.  Result:  a  number  of  the  best  fellows  are 
also  changing,  so  I  will  start  knowing  a  nucleus  of 
four  or  five  at  the  new  station — not  newly  constructed 
— only  new  to  me. 

Things  have  progressed  better  during  the  last  few 
days.  On  Friday  Sketchley  gave  me  fifteen  minutes' 
coaching  in  the  oval  control  Short.  Then  I  had  over 
an  hour's  solo  and  got  quite  at  home  with  the  ma- 
chine. Experienced  no  difficulty  at  all,  either  in 
resuming  flying  or  in  changing  to  this  English  type. 
It  was  tremendously  bracing  to  get  back  to  flying 
after  just  two  months. 

Saturday,  weather  was  not  so  good,  and  between 
one  thing  and  another  I  didn't  get  up.  The  other 
three  here  all  had  at  least   one   solo  on  Friday  or 

[  164  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Saturday.  Had  supper  in  town  with  Stanley  and 
went  to  see  "Grumpy"  afterwards.  It  was  quite 
well  played. 

Sunday  was  the  finest  day  I  have  seen  in  England. 
In  the  morning  Stanley  and  I  took  a  long  walk  to  a 
headland  near  by  and  enjoyed  it  tremendously.  In 
the  afternoon  I  had  about  an  hour  with  a  passenger 
along.  I  Air  smooth,  country  beautiful,  motor  ran  well, 
everything  fine-O.  Monday  I  got  a  flight  right  after 
lunch.  Nothing  in  particular  occurred.  To-day, 
weather  rather  poor.  Other  fellows  got  turns  in, 
however,  so  I  am  "first  up"  in  the  machines  we  have 
been  using,  and  if  weather  is  fair  will  be  up  in  the 
morning. 

Stanley  and  I  are  ready  to  move  on  almost  any 
time.  We  want  to  get  a  few  hops  in  Sopwith  Scout 
Seaplane  before  going,  and  perhaps  a  practice  patrol 
or  two. 

This  is  headed  paper,  so  I  removed  the  heading  not 
knowing  whether  it  would  pass  the  censor. 

Lots  of  love  to  the  family  at  1357,  and  bushels 
for  Ma  Velvet. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Booh 

Cattewater, 
February  21,  1918. 

Stanley  and  I  got  the  school  machine  for  a  two- 
hour  flight,  and  it  was  a  priceless  morning.  I  took 
it  first  and  ambled  around  the  harbor,  quietly  gain- 
ing altitude  and  enjoying  the  beautiful  Devonshire 

[155] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

rolling  country  and  cliff  brows.  Toward  the  end 
of  my  time  we  had  reached  3,000  feet  altitude.  I 
cut  the  power  and  lay  old  man  Short  well  over  for 
a  spiral,  gradually  drawing  it  in  closer.  There  is 
nothing  quite  as  satisfying  as  a  thorough-going 
spiral,  and  my  enjoyment  was  perhaps  the  keener 
when  Stanley  tapped  my  shoulder  and  asked  me 
to  "come  out  of  it"  at  2,000  feet.  Well,  who 
wouldn't?  I  pulled  her  in  a  bit  closer  and  called 
back:  "Do  you  mind  if  I  side  slip? — just  five  hun- 
dred feet!"  The  answer  was  emphatic  so  I  eased  out 
of  it  and  soon  landed.  Then  the  shoe  was  on  the 
other  foot,  for  though  Stanley  didn't  try  anything 
but  straight  flying  he  did  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  "put 
the  wind  up"  me  thoroughly.  Fortunately  I  stuck  it 
out  and  kept  quiet  until  his  time  was  up  and  we 
started  in.    We  got  in  safely. 

< 
To  Ms  Mother 

Penzance, 
February   22,    1918. 

No    one    knows    it*s 
Washington's  Birthday   here! 

Dearest  Mother:  Here  we  are  at  Penzance,  and 
most  delightfully  situated.  The  trip  down  from 
Plymouth  was  very  enjoyable,  yesterday  afternoon 
being  fine.  Scenery  was  very  English,  of  course, 
but  often  the  hills  reminded  me  of  Massachusetts, 
and  I  would  say  to  Stanley,  "We  are  nearing  the 
Berkshires." 

At  any  rate,  we  enjoyed  looking  out  until  darkness 
came  on,  and  then  bridge  for  an  hour. 

[166] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Eoctracts 

I  think  you  have  been  at  Penzance?  It  is  one  of 
the  famous  Cornish  Riviera  places,  anyhow.  We  are 
staying  in  a  dehghtful  country-place  a  mile  out. 
Every  comfort  of  home  and  an  excellent  table  make 
this  the  most  attractive  place  we  have  been  so  far, 
and  we  are  "full  out"  for  it.  Stanley  and  I  share  a 
large  room,  with  plenty  of  wardrobes  and  haut-boys 
to  spread  into  comfortably. 

After  breakfast  we  walk  a  couple  of  miles  to 
Newlyn,  through  the  most  picturesque  little  fishing 
village  streets.  This  is  really  seeing  England  de  luxe; 
though  I  suppose  we  won't  travel  for  some  time  now — 
and  will  be  quite  happy  not  to. 

Will  write  at  length  soonly.  This  is  just  to  post 
you  to  date.    Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


From  Note-Booh 


Newlyn- 


February. 

"No  flying  today."  My  line-a-day  book  records 
that  much  too  often  to  suit,  both  at  Newlyn  and 
Felixstowe.  This  day  at  Newlyn  I  didn't  mind 
however,  having  been  Duty  Officer  since  9  a.  m.,  and 
not  particularly  relishing  the  job  of  moving  in  and 
out  a  lot  of  machines. 

Our  day  room  was  not  so  bad  for  one,  but  might 
be  called  crowded  when  a  dozen  pilots  and  observers 
sat  around  and  smoked  on  dull  days.  However,  a 
window  at  each  end  could  be  opened,  and  the  air  soon 
cleared  when  the  gang  packed  off  to  Yorke  House 

[167] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

for  the  night.  Then  a  steward  made  up  the  fire  and 
served  my  supper,  after  which  I  retired  to  a  chair 
by  the  coals  and  wrote  or  read.  Sometimes  I  could 
accomplish  a  great  deal,  but  this  night  the  interrup- 
tions were  many.  Finally  I  went  the  rounds  at 
11.30  p.  M.,  got  startled  by  the  sudden  "Halt!"  of  our 
own  sentry,  and  ambled  back  through  the  mist  to 
bed.  Excuse  me — a  board  bed  is  a  bunk,  and  equiva- 
lent to  a  mattress  on  the  floor,  which  is  better  than 
nothing  at  all.    I  turned  the  light  low. 

A  great  tramping  awoke  me.  "Is  it  five  o'clock?" 
I  asked,  thinking  it  the  sentry  come  to  wake  me,  and 
with  characteristic  lucidity  for  me  when  half  asleep, 
inquired  of  the  weather  also.  "Bloody"  came  the  an- 
swer, in  a  well-known  voice.  It  was  Mills,  the  Com- 
manding Officer,  and  he  proceeded  to  inquire  in  detail 
just  how  it  was  that  he  had  gotten  on  to  the  station 
unchallenged.  My  explanation,  though  scarcely  clear, 
could  not  be  proven  wrong,  so  next  came  the  sugges- 
tion that  I  should  do  a  surprise  round  at  two  o'clock. 
To  this  I  agreed,  but,  always  warm-hearted,  Mills 
said  that  he  would  go  himself,  being  up  and  dressed. 
So  he  sprawled  his  six-feet-six  in  an  armchair  by  the 
fire,  and  dozed  off. 

After  a  while  I,  too,  went  to  sleep  and  woke  at 
five  to  find  a  doubtful  weather,  the  Duty  Officer's 
bugbear.  If  it  is  just  too  bad  to  fly  and  he  orders 
out  the  machines,  the  pilots  curse  him  on  arrival  from 
Yorke  House.  If  just  good  enough,  and  he  does  not, 
the  C.  O.  jumps  up  and  down  his  back  fiye^  or  six 
times.    At  any  rate  I  decided  against  patrol  this  time 

[158] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

and  struck  it  lucky,  as  the  day  grew  worse  with  the 
daylight. 

At  nine  my  relief  came,  and  I  strolled  to  the  Duty 
Ford,  much  pleased  to  have  the  job  done  for  ten  days 
more.  A  wild  ten  minutes'  ride  put  me  within  reach 
of  hot  water  and  a  good  breakfast  with  the  Doctor. 
Imagine  my  confusion  at  seeing  the  C.  O.  come  plung- 
ing along  the  drive  on  an  old  motor-cycle.  I  had 
forgotten  to  inquire  whether  he  was  coming  up! 

"What  on  earth  were  you  thinking  of  to  run  away 
with  the  car  and  leave  me."  To  which  there  was 
really  nothing  to  answer  but,  "Sorry."  It  was  not 
until  I  was  leaving  for  Felixstowe  that  the  Doctor 
told  me  how  "fed  up"  Mills  had  been  for,  in  addition 
to  other  crimes,  I  had  kept  him  awake  all  night  with 
my  sleep  ravings  in  far  from  sotto  voce.  I  must  say 
that  I  have  seldom  met  Mills'  equal  as  a  Comimanding 
Officer,  if  only  for  his  attention  to  business  when  on 
the  station,  and  thorough  camaraderie  with  the  junior 
officers  in  the  mess  and  of  evenings. 

To  his  Mother 

Penzance, 
Monday,  February  25,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  My  last  regular  letter  I  see  was 
written  February  19  from  the  other  station.  I  also 
wrote  a  couple  of  days  ago,  solely  to  notify  you  of 
Stanley's  and  my  arrival  at  our  new  station. 

At  last  I've  done  my  first  patrol — the  first  use  to 
which  my  training  has  been  put  since  April,  1917, 
when  I  started  out  with  Kantner.     It  is  great  to  be 

[169] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

under  way  at  last.  (Omitting  of  course  the  instruct- 
ing that  I  did  at  Norfolk.  I  mean  the  first  real  war 
work.  Your  fear  that  I  would  get  at  it  too  soon 
and  with  too  little  training  has  slowly  dissipated  by 
this  time,  I  expect!) 

To  resume:  February  20  was  too  rainy  for  flight. 
In  the  afternoon  I  took  a  ten-mile  tramp  with  a  braw 
Englishman,  and  we  enjoyed  the  old  Englishness  of 
the  wet  countryside.  Enjoyed  our  "tea"  heartily  at 
five.     Then  I  turned  in,  after  a  hot  bath  later. 

February  21  was  a  bully  day.  Stanley  and  I 
went  up  together  in  a.  m.,  and  each  flew  for  half  an 
hour.  Went  to  4,500  feet  and  saw  a  great  panorama. 
When  we  came  in  there  was  an  order  from  the  Wing 
Captain  for  us  to  proceed.  So  we  packed  up  hastily 
and  caught  the  three  o'clock  train,  arriving  here  in 
time  for  a  brief  visit  to  the  station  before  dinner. 
Our  new  Commanding  Officer,  Squadron-Commander 
Mills,  came  down  on  the  train  with  us  and  we  enjoyed 
bridge  for  a  while. 

Washington's  Birthday  was  uneventful.  I  had  a 
"Short"  allotted  to  me  to  use  and  cherish.  It  was 
undergoing  replacement  of  wires,  etc. 

February  23  was*  a  poor  one  for  weather. 

February  24  Stanley  got  up  for  an  hour's  flip 
around  the  harbor  in  his  machine.  All  of  these  days 
were  nice  enough  "ashore,"  though  not  particularly 
good  for  flying.  We  enjoyed  the  two-mile  walk  to 
the  station  from  our  princely  quarters,  and  spurned 
rides  in  the  Ford  (!)   a  number  of  times. 

This  morning  there  was  no  flying  due  to  a  heavy 
north  wind.     After  lunch  it  let  up.     The   day  has 

[160] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

been   a   Camdener  right  straight  through,   so   I   was 
doubly  lucky  to  get  up  this  p.  m. 

Went  out  with  observer,  bombs,  wireless  and  full 
minor  equipment  at  4  p.  m.  Followed  given  compass 
courses  and  came  in  at  6.15,  having  covered  the  area 
specified.  There  was  only  a  short  time  when  we  were 
not  in  sight  of  Land's  End  or  the  Scilly  Isles,  but 
on  a  less  clear  day  we  might  have  been  totally  de- 
pendent on  the  compass. 

Yesterday  a  fine  batch  of  letters  came  in  from 
B.  S.  &  Co.  I  was  glad  to  hear  that  Ruth  had  gotten 
one  letter  from  me — the  sixth  it  was — and  rather 
surprised  that  none  had  gotten  through  to  you  by 
5th  February.  I  hope  that  doesn't  mean  that  they 
were  held  up  permanently  by  the  censor. 

A  letter  from  Daddy  was  among  the  star  collection. 
All  of  yours  addressed  B.  S.  &  Co.  have  come  in 
sequence,  only  the  Paris  ones  missing  so  far.  Next 
rainy  day  I  shall  spread  them  out  and  look  for  ques- 
tions to  be  answered.  It  took  me  all  one  afternoon 
to  read  yours  and  Ruth's  and  enclosures,  which  are 
very  welcome  and  keep  one  well  in  touch. 

Now  that  I'm  settled,  for  a  few  months  at  least, 
will  plan  to  write  a  trifle  shorter  and  more  frequent 
letters  as  the  chances  for  writing  are  better  than  when 
we  were  constantly  on  the  move. 

Lots  of  love  to  the  family. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — The  daily  walks  and  fine  food  are  making 
me  feel  in  super-extra  health. 

[  161  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

Penzance, 
March  2,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Letters  have  been  frequent  and 
appreciated  recently,  not  to  mention  a  fine  box  of 
knitwear  and  Nunnally's,  and  books,  received  last 
night.  Yesterday  I  was  officer  of  the  day,  and  so  had 
to  stay  day  and  night  at  the  station.  As  it  blew, 
there  wasn't  much  doing.  While  I  was  enjoying  a 
cozy  supper  by  a  coal  fire,  the  package  and  letters 
from  you.  Jus  and  Phil  were  brought  in.  Needless 
to  say  the  evening  was  a  success  from  then  on. 

I'm  certainly  pleased  that  letters  were  at  last 
getting  through  to  you.  Even  if  only  a  few,  you 
will  be  posted  somewhat.  Probably  I  shall  have  to 
be  even  more  discreet  in  the  future.  A  letter  from 
headquarters  is  at  hand  requesting  the  Senior  Officer 
present  to  see  that  proper  censorship  is  carried  out 
for  his  detachment.  I  tell  Stanley  that  I  must  read 
all  his  letters  and  censor  them! 

The  socks  and  sweater  are  fine.  The  sweater  a 
worthy  successor  to  the  original,  which  is  giving 
splendid  service.  Choc's  are  fresh  and  delicious,  and 
books  appreciated.  At  present  there  is  no  shortage 
of  literature  here,  except  newspapers  from  the  United 
States.  A  Ledger  now  and  then  would  be  appre- 
ciated and  an  occasional  Literary  Digest, 

It  is  great  that  Bowse  was  elected  Class  President. 
We  always  thought  he  was  a  good  scout! 

Letters  come  from  B.  S.  &  Co.  with  very  little 
delay,  if  any,  and  the  only  ones  unaccounted  for  from 
you  and  Ruth  are  those  sent  to  Paris.  Your  valentine 
came  a  couple  of  days  ago,  still  in  February — merci! 

[  162  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

I  also  have  a  nice  note  from  Cece  at  hand  which 
I  hope  to  acknowledge  shortly.  I  am  told  there  is 
but  one  nag  in  the  vicinity  suitable  for  riding,  but  I 
see  a  lot  of  pony  carts  and  chaises  with  what  we  would 
call  marsh-tackies  drawing  them. 

I  had  letters  from  cousins  and  Aunt  Augusta 
recently,  with  kind  offers  and  invitations.  The  only 
ones  I  might  see  at  all  soon  are  the  Steel  cousins  at 
Falmouth.  Perhaps  I  can  get  over  during  the  com- 
ing week.  We  don't  make  any  difference  Sundays 
from  other  days,  so  there  is  no  chance  for  them. 

Your  No.  17,  dated  February  12,  made  good  time, 
reaching  London  February  28,  and  here  the  next 
day.  It  was  nice  that  Daddy  could  work  even  a  short 
visit  to  Gtn.  into  the  Washington  trip.  Glad  Nana  is 
planning  Cad  trip  to  Camden  with  you.  Here  it 
seems  strange  to  see  no  cars.  It  is  impossible  to  get 
petrol,  except  for  official  purposes.  This  would  be  a 
wonderful  country  to  see,  but  hard  to  get  at  except  by 
motor.  We  get  bird's-eye  views  occasionally.  I  am 
going  to  try  and  see  the  Clovelly  Cliffs  that  way,  though 
they  are  pretty  far  up  the  coast. 

Now  I'm  going  to  stop  and  go  to  the  Western 
Union  Office  to  see  whether  I  can  cable  from  here, 
just  to  cheer  things  along. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — This  is  a  Camden  day,  but  too  much  wind 
for  flying. 

[163] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 
From  Note-Booh 

Eddystone, 
March  3,  1918. 

Trip  of  Short  Seaplane  N-1606.  Pilot:  Ensign  B.  Lee;  Ob- 
server: Sub-Lieutenant  Rowley,  R.  N.  A.  S.  \ 

Rowley  and  I  stayed  down  at  the  air  station  for 
lunch,  being  stand-by  pilot  and  observer  for  B  flight. 
In  the  morning  I  had  started  out  in  my  own  machine, 
1614,  and  failed  to  get  off  the  water,  as  the  engine 
was  only  revolving  1050;  so,  as  the  bay  was  rough, 
I  properly  ruined  the  stick  and  was  towed  in.  For 
that  reason  I  was  available  to  take  out  another  ma- 
chine. While  we  were  at  lunch  the  signal  came 
through  that  N-1606  was  to  do  all  possible  patrols  in 
order  to  get  in  twenty-five  hours'  motor  time  as  a 
test  for  some  new  features.  This  was  a  high  com- 
pression, aluminum  piston  Renault-Mercedes;  1606 
was  run  out  and  prepared,  but  J.  S.  Hughes,  to 
whom  it  belonged,  did  not  return  from  Yorke  House 
in  time,  so  we  received  our  orders  and  pushed  off  at 
2.15  p.  M. 

Turning  1300  the  engine  took  us  off  with  a  rush. 
We  circled  the  bay  once  while  Rowley  got  out  his 
serial,  then  I  throttled  down  to  cruising  speed  and 
we  started  for  Lizard.  Five  minutes  later  Rowley 
wrote:  "Wireless  not  working,  shall  we  return  or  go 
on?"  I  throttled  down  and  inquired  the  prospects 
for  fixing  it.  He  thought  not  good^  so  I  said,  "Let's 
go  on  to  Lizard  and  if  it  still  doesn't  work  then  we 
can  turn  back."  He  agreed,  and  ten  minutes  later 
called  out  that  wireless  was  working. 

[  164  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

Off  Lizard  the  wind  seemed  to  be  quite  easterly, 
and  I  had  to  head  well  east  of  south  to  keep  that 
course.  After  ten  minutes  I  figured  that  we  were 
ten  miles  south  of  Lizard  and  so,  receiving  no  sug- 
gestion (it  was  Rowley's  second  patrol  too),  pro- 
ceeded to  cover  the  prescribed  area  as  best  I  could, 
steering  E.  by  N.  thirty  minutes,  S.  ten  minutes, 
W.  N.  W.  fifteen  minutes,  N.  E.  ten  minutes.  We 
then  sighted  a  convoy.  I  looked  at  Rowley  and  saw 
that  he  was  using  W/T.  Almost  at  once  we  sighted 
land  on  our  port-bow.  I  turned  to  Rowley:  "That's 
Land's  End,  isn't  it?"  "Yes,  I  think  so,"  he  an- 
swered. We  each  had  figured  in  more  N.  E.  wind 
than  existed,  so  it  was  still  Lizard  that  we  sighted. 

Rowley  agreed  that  we  had  better  stay  with  the 
convoy  for  a  while  at  least,  so  we  proceeded  to  zigzag 
in  front  of  it.  Between  three-thirty  and  five  o'clock 
I  felt  miserable.  The  clouds  were  at  2,000  feet  and 
lower,  so  the  constant  rocking  and  swaying  made  me 
feel  seasick,  and  I  was  on  the  point  of  returning 
several  times,  thinking  it  would  be  unsafe  to  be  in 
the  throes  while  at  the  wheel.  I  couldn't  decide 
whether  it  was  worse  to  fight  the  bumps  or  to  let 
the  plane  rock  in  and  out.  Rowley  offered  me  some 
chocolate,  not  knowing  how  I  felt.  First  I  turned  it 
down,  then  accepted  and  ate  it.  As  no  immediate 
results  ensued,  and  I  felt  neither  better  nor  worse, 
I  decided  to  stick  it  out. 

At  four  o'clock  another  Short  appeared,  and  at 
four-forty  Rowley  said:  "They  have  signalled  that 
they  are  going  home."  I  thought  that  we  would  give 
them  a  twenty-minutes'   start   and   find  the   runway 

[  166  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

clear  on  landing.  At  five  o'clock  we  started  back. 
"How  about  N.  E.?"  I  said.  Rowley  said,  "Yes"; 
but  later  suggested  that  "We  had  better  steer  60"  on 
account  of  the  wind."  I  changed  accordingly.  By 
six  o'clock  we  were  both  a  bit  worried,  as  land  should 
have  shown  up  even  with  poor  visibility.  For  the 
past  two  hours  I  had  been  pumping  air  pressure, 
and  this  was  becoming  extremely  tiresome.  I  asked 
Rowley  where  he  thought  we  were.  He  pointed  S.  W. 
of  Land's  End  to  the  point  from  which  we  had  left 
the  convoy.  It  was  possible  then  that  we  were  N.  W. 
of  Land's  End,  especially  as  we  had  been  steering 
30°  for  twenty  minutes,  so  we  struck  east,  in  event 
of  our  being  west  of  St.  Ives. 

It  soon  became  increasingly  difficult  to  see  the  com- 
pass, as  the  luminosity  was  poor.  By  six-thirty  it  was 
pitch  dark,  but  the  machine  did  not  seem  hard  to 
handle,  and  I  found  myself  more  sensitive  to  side 
puffs  than  during  the  day  time.  Rowley  flashed  his 
Aldis  lamp  and  found  that  we  were  heading  south. 
From  then  on  he  flashed  at  intervals  to  help  me  keep 
a  compass  course.  By  six-forty-five  we  sighted  a 
light  dimly.  It  took  fully  twenty  minutes  to  get 
near  it,  part  of  the  time  nose  down  and  full  throttle. 
Often  we  would  veer  off  course  between  flashes 
and  find  it  again  on  either  beam.  It  seemed  almost 
hopeless  to  reach  the  light,  but  finally  we  found  it 
getting  well  under  us.  We  were  then  at  about  1,000 
feet.  While  some  distance  from  the  light  I  had 
advised  him  to  drop  his  bombs,  and  he  had  also 
pulled  in  the  wireless  serial. 

I   throttled   down   and   circled   widely   around   the 

[166] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Ea^tracts 

light,  Rowley  using  the  Aldis  for  all  he  was  worth. 
Getting  no  response  at  the  end  of  five  minutes,  we 
agreed  to  land  and  got  away  with  it  safely,  using 
about  900  revolutions,  with  the  elevators  well  back. 
We  bounced  once,  rather  softly,  and  settled  on  the 
surface.  The  light  was  now  behind  us  so  I  started 
to  taxi  to  the  leeward  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  land- 
ing or,  at  least,  getting  a  line  aboard  from  the 
keepers.  Suddenly  the  stump  reef  loomed  directly 
in  front.  I  swung  hard  to  the  right,  but  too  late. 
We  crashed  on  the  reef,  hard  enough  it  seemed  to 
shatter  both  floats.  Above  the  din  of  the  surf  I 
yelled  that  I  was  going  to  jump  from  the  wing,  and 
to  come  along.  His  answer  was  indistinct.  I  tried 
to  get  out,  but  the  controls  had  jammed  back  and  it 
took  all  my  strength  to  force  them  forward.  I  tore 
my  watch  from  the  dash  and  put  it  in  my  coat  pocket, 
at  the  same  time  opening  the  air-bottle  valve.  I  heard 
Rowley's  belt  inflate  just  after  mine,  then  hurried  out 
on  the  left  wing. 

In  the  meantime  the  surf  had  carried  the  seaplane 
clear  over  the  end  of  the  reef,  so  that  I  had  to  jump 
clear  off  the  wing  and  strike  out  for  the  rocks  not 
ten  yards  away.  At  once  I  threw  off  glasses  and 
goggles,  and  soon  gauntlets  followed.  The  waves 
crashed  over  the  reef  and  boiled  down  on  me.  I 
swam  hard  for  ten  or  twenty  minutes,  though  handi- 
capped by  my  overcoat  and  a  heavy  leather  coat. 
The  reef  seemed  to  draw  gradually  away  from  me. 

Soon  I  looked  about  and  found  that  the  set  of  the 
current  was  carrying  me  not  towards,  but  at  least 
past  the  main  lighthouse.     Then,  too,  I  began  to  hear 

[167] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

shoutiS  from  the  lower  part  of  the  lighthouse.  Rowley, 
too,  was  calling,  though  by  this  time  the  machine  had 
drifted  several  hundred  yards  away.  I  started  to 
shout  also,  and  heard:  "Who  are  you?"  It  took  me 
quite  a  minute  to  frame  the  answer:  "Naval  aviator," 
and  then  I  plugged  away  for  the  light.  Progress 
was  slow,  and  I  called  for  a  boat,  hardly  expecting 
one.  Finally  I  began  to  get  under  the  lea  of  the 
lighthouse  wall.  It  was  only  a  matter  of  minutes 
until  the  keepers  tossed  me  a  buoy  and  pulled  me 
around  to  the  iron  ladder.  Even  then  I  was  almost 
swept  away  again  by  the  surge  of  waves  passing  over 
me.  Finally  I  dragged  up,  step  by  step,  to  the  plat- 
form— and  even  here  the  waves  seemed  to  pursue  me. 
The  answer  to  my  first  question  was  "Eddy stone," 
but  being  rather  dazed  and  having  an  idea  that  we 
were  somewhere  near  Ireland,  I  only  understood  when 
they  said,  "Near  Plymouth."  And  I  was  disap- 
pointed that  they  had  not  been  able  to  help  Rowley. 

Tying  a  rope  around  me,  two  keepers  went  up  the 
ladder,  while  the  third  boosted  me  a  tiresome  thirty 
feet,  and  so  into  Eddystone  light.  The  chief  then 
set  off  lights  from  the  upper  balcony,  calling  patrol 
boats  from  Plymouth,  and  the  response  was  very 
quick,  the  first  boat  arriving  within  half  an  hour. 
Until  7.45  the  men  reported  seeing  Rowley's  lamp 
flashing,  as  the  machine  gradually  drifted  away  before 
the  wind  and  tide.  At  eight  o'clock  a  boat  appeared 
and,  being  signalled  by  lamp,  at  once  started  an  all 
night  search.     Soon  she  was  joined  by  two  more. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  been  assisted  up  five  weari- 
some winding  stairways.     Then  my  new  friends  un- 

[168] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

dressed  me  before  the  kitchen  stove,  wrapped  me  in 
a  hot  blanket  and  made  some  cocoa.  The  first  cup 
combined  with  much  salt  water  and  came  right  out, 
relieving  me  greatly.  I  couldn't  hold  the  cup  for 
shivering,  and  this  kept  up  for  half  an  hour.  Finally, 
by  dint  of  cocoa  and  almost  sitting  in  the  stove  I 
quieted  down  and  began  to  feel  comfortable.  The 
cozy  room,  circled  by  two  foot  walls,  was  quiet 
enough,  then  a  door  would  open  and  the  sound  of  the 
sea  and  wind  rush  in,  while  the  chief  called  out  the 
latest  report  from  above.  I  felt  confident  that  Row- 
ley would  be  picked  up  if  he  only  stayed  with  the 
floats  and  kept  the  light  going. 

By  nine  o'clock  I  was  warm,  and  so,  dressed  in 
knitted  woolen;  underwear,  they  packed  me  off  to  bed, 
up  two  more  flights.  I  slept  soundly,  only  waking 
when  the  keepers  wound  the  great  mechanism  used 
to  revolve  the  light.  There  was  a  keen  sense  of 
comfort  and  security  in  the  lighthouse,  accentuated, 
of  course,  by  the  events  leading  up  to  my  arrival 
there.  I  should  have  felt  perfectly  content  but  for 
the  thought  of  Rowley. 

Early  next  morning  a  torpedo  boat  came  alongside, 
but  the  keeper  signalled  it  to  come  back  later.  It 
was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  after  a  good  breakfast 
one  of  them  took  me  up  to  the  top  and  showed  me 
the  polished,  watch-like  mechanism.  Plymouth  Bay 
seemed  very  near  then,  and  the  fifteen  miles  would 
have  been  easy  the  night  before  had  we  recognized 
the  lighthouse.  s  ■ 

After  lunch  we  had  a  game  of  chess,  interrupted 
by  my  torpedo  boat  calUng  again.    They  sent  a  whale- 

[  169] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

boat  alongside,  and  it  seemed  to  rise  and  fall  by  the 
ladder  in  rather  appalling  style.  However,  I  got  in 
and  away,  wearing  my  own  well-dried  clothes.  They 
left  me  at  Cattewater,  where  I  stayed  a  week  report- 
ing once  or  twice  to  the  Admiralty  headquarters  for 
interviews  and  reports.  The  seaplane  floats  were 
picked  up.  Rowley  had  evidently  stayed  in  the 
fuselage,  as  his  body  was  picked  up  the  following 
day. 

From  the  Keeper  of  Eddystone  Light 

[This  letter  from  I.  F.  W.  Williams,  Keeper  of  the  Eddystone 
Light,  while  written  a  year  and  a  half  after  Ben  had  spent  the 
night  there,  seems  to  fit  in  most  naturally  after  the  account  in 
Ben's  note-book  of  'March  3,  1918.]  » 

Trevn,   Morrat   Terrace, 
Penzance,     Cornwall, 
May  6,  1919. 

Dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  have  only  just  returned  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  Wolf  Rock  Lighthouse  where  we 
have  been  waiting  to  effect  a  landing,  but  we  have 
been  unsuccessful.  We  shall  make  another  attempt 
to-morrow.  I  thought  I  would  reply  to  your  letter 
now,  which  I  only  received  on  my  return  home  this 
evening,  as  I  shall  have  no  time  to  do  so  to-morrow. 

Your  letter  to  me  was  redirected  from  Plymouth,  as 
I  have  left  the  Eddystone.  I  am  now  the  Principal  of 
the  "Wolf,"  and  reside  with  my  wife  and  family  in 
Penzance,  quite  close  to  the  Flying  Station  at 
Newlyn,  where  your  boy  started  from  on  that  event- 
ful night  when  we  helped  him  out  of  the  water. 

[170] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  give  you  all  the 
information  I  can  respecting  the  rescue,  but  I  almost 
shrink  from  doing  so  because  of  the  repetition  of  the 
word  "I."  At  any  rate,  I  trust  you  won't  think  it 
another  case  of  Bill  Adams  winning  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  where  you  will  remember  Bill  did  this 
and  Bill  did  that. 

It  was  on  a  Sunday  night  that  the  seaplane  came 
down,  somewhere  about  7  p.  m.  One  keeper  was  on 
watch  in  the  lantern.  I  was  writing  in  the  subsidiary 
light-room.  The  third  keeper  was  reading  in  the 
living-room,  the  floor  below  me,  when  all  at  once  a 
bright  light  flashed  for  a  moment  into  the  tower.  It 
was  observed  by  all  three  and,  quite  unknown  to  one 
another,  we  were  looking  out  of  the  windows  to  try 
and  make  out  what  had  caused  the  flash.  Some  mo- 
ments passed  and  it  was  seen  again,  and  we  then 
began  to  acquaint  one  another  by  shouting  up  or 
down  the  staircase  that  there  was  "something"  in  the 
water  flashing  a  light.  We  hastened  down  the  tower 
and  opened  the  entrance  door  and  went  down  the 
dog  steps  (merei  bars  let  into  the  tower)  to  the  plinth, 
or  base,  and  after  some  time  we  could  make  out  the 
"something"  was  a  plane.  I  shouted,  but  received  no 
reply,  and  still  the  plane  was  "bobbing,"  first  on  one 
side  of  us,  then  another.  That  there  was  some  one 
on  the  plane  was  apparent,  because  they  were  using 
an  electric  torch,  but  for  what  reason  we  did  not 
discover  till  later.  Some  time  passed.  I  continued 
to  shout,  or  rather  scream  when,  all  at  once,  I  thought 
I  heard  a  voice,  not  from  the  machine  but  from  the 
water,  and  I  remarked  to  one  of  my  colleagues,  who 

[  171  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

had  ventured  down  with  me  (I  must  just  mention  that 
a  very  big  sea  was  running  at  the  time,  although  the 
tide  was  low  and  it  was  a  frightfully  cold  wind  from 
the  northeast)  that  I  believed  a  man  was  in  the 
water,  and  he  replied,  "I  thought  I  heard  a  voice  as 
well."  I  commenced  shouting:  "Where  are  you?" 
and  after  some  time  I  distinctly  heard  these  words: 
"Oh,  God,  give  me  a  boat!"  But  I  could  not  locate 
the  voice  or  see  anybody.  So  I  suggested  to  my 
comrade  to  get  a  life-buoy  and  I  would  keep  up  the 
shouting  and  keep  watch.  The  life-buoy  was  brought, 
and  I  got  ready  to  heave  it,  my  mate  holding  the 
life-line  attached  to  it.  Then  a  tremendous  sea  rushed 
past  us,  nearly  sweeping  us  off  the  base,  but  that  sea 
left  a  lot  of  foam,  and  I  saw  your  son  in  the  water, 
and  by  giving  the  life-buoy  a  good  swing  I  succeeded 
in  planting  it  right  alongside  of  him,  and  in  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  write  this  we  felt  the  tug  on  the  line. 
But  it  was  only  his  hitching  his  arm  into  the  buoy, 
he  was  powerless  to  do  more,  being  in  a  state  of 
collapse  from  the  cold  and  the  shock.  Anyhow,  we 
hauled  the  line  in  until  he  was  alongside  the  dog  steps, 
but  he  was  not  able  to  help  himself,  so  I  went  down 
into  the  water  and  put  my  arm  around  him  and 
supported  him  up  to  the  landing.  He  asked  where 
he  was  and  I  told  him.  He  said  he  thought  he  was 
somewhere  on  the  coast  of  Ireland.  "Well,  my 
friend,"  I  said  to  your  boy,  "do  you  feel  able  to 
climb  those  dog  steps?"  He  asked:  "How  many?" 
I  told  him  and  he  said:  "Any  other  way  to  go  up?" 
and  I  said,  "Unfortunately  no.  Come  on,  now,"  I 
said,  "you  are  wet,  so  am  I.     I  am  beastly  cold,  so 

[  172  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

I  know  you  are.  So  the  sooner  we  are  up  and  inside 
the  better  it  will  be."  I  could  see  the  boy's  nerves 
were  shaken,  so  I  thought  he  required  a  little  bucking 
up.  I  told  him  quite  frankly  that  the  tide  was  rising, 
and  that  unless  we  got  up  and  inside  soon  we  should 
be  both  swept  off  the  base.  So  I  shouted  to  my 
comrades  to  lower  a  line  down  and  I  would  make  it 
fast  around  him,  which  I  did,  we  then  began  to  as- 
cend, my  comrades  pulling  gently  on  the  line,  and 
I  supporting  him  around  the  waist.  It  was  a  slow, 
very  slow  process,  and  my  heart  was  thumping  badly 
the  whole  time.  He  was  past  further  effort  and, 
about  half  way  up,  he  lost  all  control  of  his  legs.  We 
hung,  so  to  speak,  in  the  balance  for  what  seemed  an 
eternity,  but  I  continued  to  urge  him  on  and  spoke 
cheerfully  and,  after  a  little  while,  he  commenced  to 
again  ascend,  getting  his  body  just  above  the  sill  of 
the  door.  I  placed  my  head  at  his  back  and  my 
comrades  pulled  on  the  line  and,  so,  I  pressed  him 
inside,  where  he  lay  for  a  moment,  then  we  helped 
him  on  to  his  feet.  I  asked  him  how  many  were  on 
the  plane  and  he  said  one  man.  One  of  my  mates 
remained  behind  to  take  his  flying  kit  off,  and  we 
went  up  to  fire  rockets  to  call  assistance  for  Rowley 
who  was  still  on  the  plane  using  the  torch.  We  fired 
rockets  for  forty-five  minutes,  and  four  destroyers 
came  from  different  directions  in  answer  to  same.  I 
Morsed  by  lamp  the  message  that  we  had  rescued  one 
man,  and  that  there  was  still  another  on  the  plane 
requiring  immediate  help  but,  unfortunately,  the  elec- 
tric torch  was  exhausted,  or,  the  machine  being  dam- 
aged by  being  in  contact  with  our  rocks  they  could  not 

[  173  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

see  anything  by  their  search-lights.  By  this  time  it  was 
about  10  p.  M.,  and  we  were  so  cold  we  could  not 
keep  a  limb  still  to  save  our  lives;  so  we  went  to  the 
living-room  where  your  son  was  wrapped  in  blankets 
in  front  of  a  blazing  fire.  I  was  never  more  surprised 
in  my  life  to  find  our  visitor  was  an  American  and 
little  more  than  a  boy.  So  I  began  to  tease  him  about 
running  away  with  his  father's  seaplane  and  so  on. 
.  .  .  Anyhow,  finding  he  was  about  my  build,  I  went 
up-stairs  and  obtained  some  woolen  underclothes 
which  fitted  splendidly,  then  to  bed.  He  had  had 
some  cocoa  but  was  not  feeling  well  enough  for  food. 
We  assisted  him  up  to  bed  where  he  slept  soundly 
till  next  morning  about  8  a.  m.,  when  a  destroyer 
appeared  off  the  lighthouse  and  I  semaphored  the 
full  details  of  the  affair.  I  asked  your  son  his  name 
and  his  rank,  and  he  seemed  pleased,  because  he  was 
anxious  about  your  hearing  that  he  was  missing. 
After  that  he  had  breakfast  with  us,  your  son  looking 
quite  a  typical  lighthouse-keeper  in  my  shore-going 
uniform.  Dinner  time  came  round  and  he  enjoyed 
another  meal.  We  then  sat  and  played  a  game  of 
chess,  and  just  as  we  were  finishing  a  torpedo-boat 
came  out  from  Plymouth  and  took  him  ashore.  I 
really  do  think  that  he  would  have  liked  to  have 
enjoyed  the  peacefulness  of  the  lighthouse  for  a  day 
or  two.  He  was  feeling  the  effects  of  his  strenuous 
time  of  the  night  before.  Anyhow  the  boat  was  there 
and  we  parted  company.  I  asked  him  to  be  kind 
enough  when,  visiting  us  again,  to  come  in  daylight 
and  not  come  fooling  around  at  night,  because  light- 
houses   are   not   open  to   visitors    after   sunset.      He 

[  174  ] 


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laughed,    and    said    he    would    try    and    bear    it    in 
mind. 

Dear  Madam,  I  hope  you  will  pardon  this  hasty 
and  beastly  scrawl.  I  beg  to  thank  you  for  your 
kind  remarks.  Needless  to  say  we  only  did  just  what 
anybody  else  would  or  should  do  in  like  circumstances. 
I  thanked  God  for  giving  us  the  opportunity:  thirty 
minutes  later  and  we  could  have  done  nothing. 

I  should  much  like  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Lee,  as  the 

memory  of  that  night  will  never  fade  out  of  my  mind 

and,  should  you  visit  Newlyn,  I  hope  you  will  stay 

with  us.    We  have  a  fine  house  and  in  a  fine  situation. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

I.  F.  W.  Williams. 

Ben  made  no  mention  of  his  Eddy  stone  experience 
in  his  letters  home  until  May  21,  1918. 

To  his  Mother 

Penzance, 
Thursday,   March  7,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  As  there  is  some  question  as  to 
the  advisabihty  of  writing  letters  full  of  detail,  and 
some  question  as  to  their  getting  through,  I  shall 
make  this  brief. 

Work  is  progressing  normally,  chiefly  interfered 
with  by  weather.  No  matter  how  Floridian  in  tem- 
perature this  climate  may  be,  it  still  cannot  compete 
for  sunshine. 

Last  Friday,  I  think  it  was,  I  sent  the  following 
cable  through  the  post-office  at  E.  M.  F.  rates: 

[  175  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

"Chase  &  Co.,  Jacksonville,  Fla.  > 

Am  comfortably  installed  Penzance  regular  duties 
congratulate  Phil  class  honors  continue  Brown  Shipley 
Love. 

(Signed)     Lee." 

I  haven't  heard  as  yet  from  the  P.  O.  whether  or  not 
the  message  was  finally  sent  through.  It  had  to  go 
via  London. 

I  am  going  to  try  and  get  over  to  see  Cousins 
Steel  in  the  course  of  the  next  two  or  three  days.  I 
have  a  day  or  so  vacation  due  me  very  shortly. 

I  have  hardly  written  a  letter  outside  of  those  to 
you  and  Ruth;  knowing  that  the  family  will  get  all 
the  latest  from  you,  it  hardly  seems  worth  while  to 
duplicate. 

Lots  and  lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

March  13,  1918. 

Deabest  Mother:  I'm  back  at  headquarters  and 
ready  to  get  to  work  again  to-morrow,  after  a  very 
pleasant  four  days. 

First  let  me  jot  a  few  things  before  I  forget. 

Books  I  can  get  very  reasonably  here.  Two  copies 
of  Life  however  arrived  (I  forget  by  whom  sent; 
was  it  you?),  and  they  are  considered  "priceless"  by 
the  fellows  here.  The  C.  O.  Squadron-Commander 
Mills  is  at  present  roaring  over  one  of  them.  So 
if  you  can  pass  copies  along  they  will  be  much 
appreciated  by  all  hands.    Perhaps  a  Literary  Digest 

[176] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

or  Post  occasionally,  too.  I  would  hardly  want  a 
daily  paper  sent,  but  a  copy  of  the  Ledger  once  in  a 
week  or  two  would  be  nice.  These  should  be  sent 
B.  S.  &  Co.,  as  everything,  in  order  to  be  sure  to 
reach  me.  Besides,  my  location  is  presumably  un- 
known, therefore  I  have  removed  the  nicely  stamped 
heading  from  this  paper. 

Your  Now  18  February  14,  and  No.  19  February  18 
are  most  recently  arrived — with  several  enclosures. 
Glad  you  got  reports  of  me  from  France.  One  will 
be  due  from  South  Godstone,  England,  soon  after 
this,  as  the  Steel  cousins  have  returned  there  after 
seeing  me  at  Falmouth. 

The  "Noo-nallies,"  as  Phil  used  to  call  it,  proved 
handsomely  popular.  A  box  has  just  arrived  from 
Ruth  with  a  pound  or  so  of  fudge,  which  kept 
beautifully,  and  two  pounds  of  Domino  sugar.  I  was 
quite  surprised  that  the  latter  came  through  all  right, 
but  it  was  lucky,  as  sugar  for  beverages  is  just  giving 
out  here.  I  have  a  small  bottle  of  "Saxin"  Pills, 
one  of  which  sweetens  a  cup.  This  is  convenient 
when  travelling. 

I  wrote  to  Jus  a  day  or  so  ago,  requesting  him  to 
order  me  two  pairs  of  gold-filled  spectacles  at  Bodens, 
— to  be  same  as  last  made  there, — sent  in  a  wooden 
box,  with  dozen  Gillette  Safety  Blades.  Brown, 
Shipley  address.  In  event  of  my  letter  to  him 
going  down,  it  might  be  well  to  check  up  by  men- 
tioning this  next  time  you  write. 

I'm  glad  things  worked  out  so  well  for  the  fellows 
from  Camp.  It  must  have  been  a  great  pleasure  for 
them  just  to  be  in  such  a  nice  place  as   Farview, 

[177] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

not  to  mention  a  meal  there  after  a  few  months  of 
Camp. 

Will  endeavor  to  work  off  a  few  notes  that  should 
have  gone  long  ago,  now  that  I  seem  settled  for  a 
while  (though  I  hardly  dare  murmur  settled  for  fear 
of  stirring  up  word  to  move  on). 

Now  for  the  past  few  days. 

Sunday  afternoon  I  took  a  train  for  Falmouth 
(change  at  Truro),  arriving  there  at  6.30,  and  going 
at  once  to  the  Falmouth  Hotel.  While  registering 
Cousin  Sophie  appeared,  and  then  her  mother.  They 
were  extremely  cordial,  and  it  seemed  very  nice  in- 
deed to  spend  a  quiet  evening  with  some  American 
ladies  having  kindred  interests.  I  was  comfortably 
quartered  in  a  small  room  with  sea  roar  at  night. 
Next  morning  and  afternoon  Cousin  Sophie  and  I 
took  ramble  walks  through  Falmouth  and  along  the 
waterfront.  We  stopped  for  tea  at  a  quaint  old 
house  with  two  q.  o.  ladies  in  charge,  who  urged  me 
to  stop  in  should  I  have  a  forced  landing  in  Fal- 
mouth. Also  met  one  Captain  Stopford,  in  charge 
of  the  harbor. 

Tuesday  morning  I  assisted  in  their  get-away  by 
securing  and  holding  down  space  in  the  through  car- 
riage to  London.  I  rode  as  far  as  Truro,  and  de- 
parted there.  Saw  Truro  Cathedral,  inside  and  out. 
It  is  only  thirty  years  old;  about  the  newest  in  Eng- 
land. The  Cousins  were  extremely  cordial  and  invited 
me  to  spend  leaves  at  S.  Godstone,  whenever  possible. 

I  caught  a  train  back  in  this  direction,  getting  off 
at  St.  Erth,  and  took  a  short  ride  to  St.  Ives,  arriving 
there  in  time  for  a  copious  tea  at  3.30,  which  largely 

[  178  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

replaced  lunch.  I  stayed  at  the  Tregenna  Castle 
Hotel,  which  was  very  nice  and  clean  and  comfy. 
I  spent  all  afternoon  down  in  old  St.  Ives  and  out 
on  the  Island.  It  was  an  ideal  day  with  a  big  crash- 
ing sea  coming  over  the  breakwater  and  into  the  har- 
bor. St.  Ives  Bay  was  a  deep  blue,  with  a  white 
breaker  <iircle  stretching  around  to  the  Godrevy 
Lighthouse  miles  away. 

I  sent  about  a  dozen  picture  postals  in  one  en- 
velope, which  I  hope  will  arrive.  They  give  ia  good 
idea  of  the  old  streets.  Were  you  ever  in  St.  Ives? 
It  is  quite  possible,  though  I  don't  remember  your 
mentioning  it. 

This  morning  was  dull  so  I  had  luxurious  breakfast 
in  bed  and  wrote  a  bit — ^then  had  lunch  at  ten  o'clock 
and  shipped  my  satchel  back  here.  I  had  a  typical 
tooth-brush  bag,  just  a  small  borrowed  suit-case  about 
a  foot  long. 

I  started  on  foot  at  2.15  and  enjoyed  the  walk  very 
much.  The  country  was  typical,  I  suppose, — gorse 
hedges  and  walls,  with  the  turf  growing  from  the 
crevices.  A  good  bit  of  the  gorse  was  out,  giving 
yellow  splurges  here  and  there.  By  this  time  it  had 
come  out  sunny  and  fine.  The  country  reminded 
me  of  the  parts  of  Maine  in  which  there  are  no  Cam- 
den hills,  but  of  course  old  forges  and  mills  and 
ancient  whitewashed  houses  gave  quite  a  different 
character. 

I  arrived  in  time  for  a  hearty  tea  here,  followed 
by  a  good  shave,  hot  bath  and  fresh  outfit,  and  so 
enjoyed  a  good  dinner,  feeling  very  fit.  The  little 
lay-ofp  has  done  me  good,  I  guess,  and  has  sharpened 

[179] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

me  up  for  flying.  In  the  meantime  Stanley  reports 
he  has  not  been  up  since  my  departure,  so  all  gained 
and  nothing  lost! 

Lots  of  love  to  the  whole  family  and  stacks  and 
oodles  for  you. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Ms  Brother 

H.  M.   Naval  Air  Station, 
Newlyn,   Cornwall. 

Dear  Phil:  Yours  acknowledging  mine  at  hand, 
with  much  pleasure,  also  yours  written  just  previous 
to  that. 

In  a  wire  to  Jax  I  requested  to  have  sent  my 
congratulations  on  election  as  Class  President,  which 
Jus  wrote  about  but  you  did  not  mention.  Con- 
gratulations again.  Be  sure  to  tell  me  any  good 
college  dope  like  that. 

I've  just  finished  up  a  very  pleasant  four-days' 
lay-off,  which  included  two  days  in  Falmouth  with 
two  Steel  Cousins  and  a  day  and  a  half  in  St.  Ives. 
This  latter  place  is  very  attractive — an  old  fishing 
village  on  a  beautiful  bay,  with  a  few  good  hotels  upon 
the  hill.  People  come  down  to  recuperate  from 
various  ills.  Lots  of  invalids  about.  At  the  Tregenna 
Castle  Hotel  where  I  was  staying,  Ambassador  Wal- 
ter Hines  Page  was  staying.  However,  he  had  all 
meals  in  his  room,  so  I  didn't  even  see  him. 

To-day  I  started  after  lunch  and  enjoyed  a  good 
ten-mile  walk  back  here.  It  was  not  unlike  the  walk 
from  Rockland  to  Blueberry  which  I  took  about  three 

[  180  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

years  ago,  only  the  roads  were  down  between  high 
yellow  gorse  hedges  and  stone  walls  with  the  moss 
on  them.  But  it  was  a  beautiful  walk.  There  are 
many  wonderful  places  to  see  within  twenty  miles 
from  here.  However,  there  is  hardly  a  chance  of  get- 
ting there  as  it  is  impossible  to  get  a  car  or  motor- 
cycle. If  you  have  time  to  walk  it  is  O.K.,  but  we 
have  not. 

I  really  can't  advise  much  as  you  are  so  much 
more  in  touch  with  what  fellows  are  doing  now,  but 
it  looks  as  if  there  was  ample  time  for  every  one  to 
get  in.  Get  all  the  training  in  United  States  that 
you  can,  when  you  do  go  in.  I  don't  regret  now 
having  been  held  up  for  some  time  on  foreign  service, 
as  the  instructing  I  did  at  Norfolk  was  quite  as  useful 
as  the  patrol  here,  it  seems  now. 

Best  regards  to  Bill  Ferguson,  and  any  one  else  I 
may  know  that  you  see. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

March  21,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  A  fine  bundle  of  letters  came  in 
to-day — including  two  from  you,  several  from  Ruth, 
and  one  each  from  Paul,  Bud,  Jus,  and  Aunt  Mary 
Lee.  Also  a  Life  and  Leslie^  which  made  the  usual 
hit  with  the  fellows  here. 

Your  latest  acknowledges  my  Havre  letter,  and 
you  wonder  why  none  have  come  through  since.  Ruth 
also  had  been  without  some  time,  so  I  am  afraid  there 

[  181  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

may  have  been  some  kind  of  a  hold-up.  A  lot  of  my 
letters  were  mailed  unstamped,  as  I'd  been  told  that 
was  the  correct  dope,  but  it  may  act  as  a  delay  so 
have  stamped  all  of  them  for  the  past  several  weeks. 

Since  returning  from  St.  Ives  things  have  been  a 
bit  more  interesting.  I  got  into  the  game  of  field 
hockey  last  Friday  afternoon,  the  weather  being  poor. 
It  was  splendid,  hard  exercise  for  two  hours,  followed 
by  a  good  hot  bath,  and^  then  tea.  For  the  next  three 
days  I  was  pretty  stiff  and  sore.  The  game  should 
be  played  a  couple  of  times  a  week  for  one  to  be 
properly  in  shape  for  it.  Of  course  we  only  play 
when  it  is  impossible  to  fly,  yet  not  pouring. 

Day  before  yesterday  I  had  an  hour's  flight,  prac- 
ticing approaching  a  target  with  the  observer  drop- 
ping dummy  bombs.  Yesterday  I  was  out  for  a  good 
four  and  a  half  hours'  patrol  which  was  rather  good 
fun,  though  a  bit  tiresome.  Very  satisfactory  to  do 
a  job  like  that  successfully.  To-day  I  was  out  6  to 
7  A.  M.  and  12.30  to  2  p.  m.,  enjoying  breakfast  at 
10  and  lunch  at  3  p.  m.,  after  which  I  was  through  for 
the  day.  Made  a  queer  day  though,  with  all  hours 
irregular.  That  is  not  likely  to  occur  very  often  per 
week. 

I  hear  now  and  then  from  Chas.  and  Bobby,  re- 
spectively, from  their  stations.  They  are  getting 
along  slowly,  as  I  am  here. 

Your  letters  were  Nos.  21,  22,  23.  And  No.  4 
from  Cece,  very  much  appreciated,  too,  as  are  always 
the  enclosures  of  letters  from  Phil,  and  odd  ones  from 
other  people.  Phil  seems  to  have  a  good  deal  of 
interest  to  write  about.     The  Cad  brougham  proposi- 

[  182  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Eactracts 

tion  sounds  first-class  for  this  summer's  trip  to  Cam- 
den, and  many  in  the  future.  It  will  be  queer  not 
to  have  Jus  and  family  there,  and  will  make  for 
perhaps  the  quietest  summer  to  date. 

At  this  stage  I  stopped  for  an  hour  and  a  half  to 
play  a  couple  of  rubbers  of  bridge.  The  Commanding 
Officer  enjoys  the  game,  and  there  are  only  about 
four  of  us  that  play,  so  I  take  a  hand  quite  often. 

Things  are  drifting  along  pretty  regularly  now, 
with  about  four  to  eight  miles  a  day  of  walking. 
Lots  of  love  to  all  in  Jax. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Booh 

Newlyn, 
March  24,  1&18. 

After  my  Eddy  stone  crash  I  had  about  eight  days 
off,  during  which  I  visited  Falmouth  and  St.  Ives, 
then  returned  for  a  board  of  inquiry  meeting,  which 
lasted  all  day.  The  verdict  was,  inexperience  of  pilot 
and  observer,  and  faulty  navigation. 

My  next  flying  was  a  practice  flight,  then  a  couple 
of  short  patrols.  With  Lieutenant  Harrison  I  did  a 
five-hour  patrol,  and  another  with  a  W/T  rating, 
landing  once  at  sea  and  coming  in  after  dark. 

On  the  24th,  Harrison  and  I  started  for  a  three- 
hour  trip.  The  revolving  indicator  seemed  to  be 
searching,  but  not  badly.  About  three  miles  south 
of  Land's  End  the  motor  broke  a  connecting  rod, 
so  I  throttled  at  once  and  went  into  a  slow  glide. 

[183] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

We  were  only  at  800  feet,  but  I  managed  time  for 
Harrison  to  get  off  his  radio  signal  twice.  But  I 
held  the  glide  a  trifle  too  flat,  and  on  realizing  this, 
forty  feet  up,  it  was  too  late.  I  shoved  the  nose 
down,  but  it  would  pull  up  again  and  we  did  a  slow 
dive,  shearing  off  both  floats. 

We  were  up  to  our  necks  at  once,  and  after  a  bit 
of  swimming,  finally  rode  astride  the  undamaged  tail- 
float.  A  trawler  which  had  seemed  almost  under  us 
was  now  two  miles  away,  but  came  to  us  in  half  an 
hour.  We  had  tea  and  dry  clothes  on  board,  and 
steamed  into  Newlyn  Harbor  unhurt.  Nothing  was 
salved  but  the  rudder  and  tail-float. 

Squadron-Commander  J.  S.  Mills,  the  Commanding 
Officer,  gave  me  a  proper  straffing  a  few  days  later, 
and  offered  to  send  me  away  for  a  course,  if  I  wanted 
one.  I  was  eager  to  take  up  any  new  type,  so  when 
the  chance  came  he  sent  me  to  Felixstowe  for  the 
boat  course.  In  the  meantime  the  spring  weather 
had  come  on  and  Penzance  had  grown  very  attractive. 
I  began  to  know  the  Hills  and  Bazeleys.  However, 
it  was  with  little  regret,  but  chiefly  anticipation,  that 
I  left  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  England. 

To  his  Mother 

Penzance, 
March  27,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  March  6  and  10  at 
hand,  which  is  making  very  good  time  considering 
that  they  go  to  London  first.  I'm  mighty  glad  my 
cable   came   through   O.K.,   even   though   not   giving 

[184] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Ecctracts 

origin.  You  will  hear  that  no  doubt  through  some 
other  source,  and  it  is  of  interest,  if  not  of  importance. 

I  cannot  understand  why  the  letters  from  February 
4  to  20  have  been  stalled  so — both  to  you  and  Ruth. 
They  may  have  gone  down,  but  the  chances  seem 
against  it. 

Am  anticipating  arrival  of  next  box  from  Jackson- 
ville. The  last  was  fine  and  appreciated  by  a  good 
many.  It  arrived  the  night  I  was  Duty  Officer  for 
the  first  time.  I'm  D.  O.  again  to-morrow,  so  per- 
haps it  will  arrive  then! 

The  fine,  mild  weather  has  broken  up.  To-day  is 
a  bit  colder,  and  this  evening  it  is  raining.  However, 
it  was  not  too  bad  for  Stanley  and  me  to  have  a 
round  of  golf  on  the  lawn.  It  is  possible  to  have 
quite  an  entertaining  game,  just  playing  short  shots. 
We  do  not  anticipate  much  bad  weather  from  now 
on,  however,  as  spring  has  really  set  in  for  this  local- 
ity. We  are  operating  on  British  summer  time,  which 
is  an  hour  later  than  Greenwich.  In  other  words, 
daylight  lasts  until  eight  instead  of  seven  today. 

To-day  I  took  a  Navy  check  to  the  local  bank  and 
deposited  same,  opening  an  account.  It  seemed  worth 
while  as  checks  are  needed  for  various  bills. 

Speaking  of  finances,  the  proposed  reduction  of 
naval  aviators'  flying  pay  will  probably  not  come  into 
force  for  a  good  many  months.  When  it  does,  it 
may  make  a  difference  of  $90  or  $100,  however.  But 
let  us  hope  it  is  a  long  way  off. 

I  received  a  card  notifying  me  of  Danforth  Jackson. 
Please  congratulate  the  parents  for  me  when  next 
met,  and  give  both  my  best  regards. 

[185] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

The  jasmine  you  enclosed  recently  was  still  fra- 
grant. I  suppose  Farview  is  a  regular  bower  for 
bees  as  usual. 

Let's  see — Phil  is  probably  starting  for  Jax  about 
now,  and  will  be  back  in  Philadelphia  before  this  letter 
reaches  its  destination. 

We're  getting  bum  news  now  from  France  but, 
considering  everything,  the  Allies  at  present  writing 
seem  to  be  holding  the  push  as  well  as  could  be 
expected.  There  is  much  speculation  about  the 
seventy-five-mile  marvel  of  a  gun,  but  as  yet  the 
mystery  remains   unsolved. 

I  hear  from  Chas.  occasionally,  and  Bob  Stocker 
more  rarely  still,  but  they  seem  to  be  getting  along 
quietly  with  their  jobs.  My  twenty-five  hours'  flying, 
done  in  the  past  two  months,  doesn't  amount  to  much, 
but  should  be  sufficient  to  break  the  ice,  so  to  speak. 
With  real  summer  and  more  machines  we  could  do 
quite  a  bit. 

Am  very  well  indeed,  and  getting  good  grub  and 
good  sleep.     Hope  all  samee  in  Jax.     Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Penzance, 

April  1,  1918. 

8  p.  M. 

Dearest  Mother:  I'm  writing  from  the  Duty 
Officer's  room  and  so  have  not  your  latest  letters  at 
hand.  However,  I  recall  that  you  had  not  heard  by 
letter  for  some  time  but  that  telegram  had  come  O.K., 
minus  the  point  of  origin.    Well,  I  won't  wire  again 

[186] 


Penzanck,  March  i918 


c      t 

c 

*,  f 


•  •  «     •  « 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

until  I  move,  probably,  as  my  letters  should  arrive 
regularly  about  once  a  week,  or  five  days. 

There  is  not  very  much  to  enlarge  upon  now  as  life 
is  largely  taken  up  with  routine,  most  of  which  there 
is  no  point  in  writing  about  as  it  might  not  pass  the 
censor.  Besides,  the  daily  work  is  not  particularly 
thrilling  as  long  as  it  goes  well  and  normally. 

A  few  days  ago  your  package  arrived  with  every- 
thing you  mentioned  sending,  books,  socks,  band, 
marshmallows,  and  very  welcome  they  were.  I  have 
not  read  "Private  Peat,"  but  expect  to  do  so  with 
pleasure. 

The  last  few  days  high  winds  have  prevailed,  so 
that  afternoon  "make  and  mends"  have  been  in  order. 
That  is  the  Navy  term  for  an  afternoon  off. 

A  few  days  ago  Mr.  Hill  'phoned,  and  later  called 
when  I  was  out.  I  called  Friday  afternoon  and  met 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers,  Amer- 
ican friends  of  the  Hill's.  As  you  probably  know, 
Mrs.  Hill  is  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Carter,  and  the  latter 
had  kindly  asked  them  to  look  me  up.  We  Jiad  a 
good  chat.  Mr.  Hill  could  tell  me  lots  of  local  dope 
of  interest. 

Yesterday  was  a  glorious  Easter  Sunday — a  fine 
brisk  day,  similar  to  a  June  day  in  Camden.  I 
stopped  in  at  the  Catholic  church  with  Harrison,  but 
we  were  too  late  for  the  morning  service.  Walked 
on  down  to  the  base  here  and  back  to  Yorke  House 
for  lunch.  Wrote  to  Phil  after  lunch,  and  had  a  round 
of  putting  on  the  lawn.  Called  for  tea  (by  request) 
at   the   Hill's   at   four   o'clock,   and   stayed   till   five. 

[187] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Proceeded  to  meet  the  kids — a  girl  and  boy  of  about 
five,  and  an  infant  just  baptized. 

Stanley  and  I  are  to  come  down  for  bridge  some 
evening  soon.  The  house  is  only  five  minutes  from 
Yorke  House. 

At  five  I  went  on  a  short  distance  to  the  Bazeley's 
where  Stanley  has  been  intrenching  himself  for  some 
time.  They  have  a  large  place,  tennis  court,  daughter 
and  daughter's  friends  back  from  school.  I  arrived 
just  as  they  were  finishing  tea  and  ready  for  a  walk, 

so  joined  in.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  B are  the  essence 

of  hospitality  and  very  jolly.  The  girls  are  "flappers" 
(though  they  might  resent  being  called  same),  except 
one,  who  is  vacating  from  several  strenuous  months  in 
the  War  Office.  We  had  a  pleasant  walk  until  eight 
o'clock — seeing  a  fine  sunset  from  the  hills  above 
here. 

Stanley  and  I  then  returned  to  Yorke  House  for 
the  final  R.  N".  A.  S.  dinner.  The  Royal  Air  Force 
came  into  being  today,  and  the  R.  F.  C.  and  R.  N. 
A.  S.  are  no  longer  separate,  but  are  absorbed  into 
the  new  organization.  Of  course  there  was  more  or 
less  moaning  from  both  services  at  losing  their  iden- 
tity and  traditions.  At  any  rate,  they  had  a  final 
bang-up  dinner,  followed  by  toasts  and  speeches  from 
A  to  Z.  I  was  called  on  to  respond  for  the  "Yankee 
Blokes,"  and  managed  to  get  in  a  few  digs  in  return. 
The  evening  rapidly  wore  on,  with  the  aid  of  a  piano, 
and  all  hands  turned  in  soon  after  twelve.  The  finale 
consisted  of  five  of  us  toasting  marshmallows  over  the 
red  coals.  This  was  a  great  novelty  to  the  English- 
men, but  one  to  which  they  took  very  readily. 

[188] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Eoctracts 

Of  course  the  station  is  carrying  on  just  the  same 
to-day  as  yesterday.  Such  changes  as  do  come  will 
come  gradually,  and  will  largely  consist  of  different 
names  and  methods  of  running  the  organization;  for 
the  present,  however,  there  is  no  noticeable  difference. 

Nothing  in  particular  of  note  to-day.  A  few  patrols 
were  attempted  but  machines  did  not  stay  out  long, 
due  to  rough  air  and  wind.  I  have  not  been  up  for 
some  time  but  should  be  at  it  again  with  coming  of 
quieter  weather. 

It  is  not  my  turn  as  D.  O.,  but  Flight-Lieutenant 
Woodland,  who  was  on  duty,  really  needed  relieving, 
and  I  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  and  was  almost 
glad  of  the  job.  Woodland  needed  relieving  because 
his  fiancee  is  still  in  town,  which  is  ample  reason. 

Now  the  steward  is  making  up  the  so-called  "board 
bed,"  which  consists  of  boards  and  a  mattress,  blankets 
and  pillow.  I've  just  finished  a  supper  consisting  of 
beef,  cauliflower  and  potatoes,  followed  by  junket. 
This  is  sent  down  from  Yorke  House.  Coffee  is 
standing  near  by  ready  for  consumption.  On  the 
cream  (?)  pitcher  there  is  the  legend,  "He  soars  not 
high  who  fears  to  fall,"  and  on  the  sugar-bowl, 
"Enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast."  How  the  potter 
would  be  amused  if  he  knew  flying  folks  were  using 
his  cream-pitcher. 

A  coal-fire  is  making  brave  efforts  and  giving  off 
sulphurous  fumes.  These  mingle  with  the  usually 
smoking  kerosene  lamp  aroma,  and  together  they  do 
battle  with  the  cigarette  smoke  left  by  the  afternoon's 
loafers.    Yes,  I  do  open  the  windows  on  turning  in. 

The  chief  trouble  with  the  fire  is  that  it  consists 

[189] 


Benjamin  hee,  ^d 

mainly  of  small  bits  of  soft  coal  instead  of  the  usual 
good-sized  hunks. 

I  have  a  copy  of  "Vanity  Fair,"  which  will  be 
perused  until,  say,  1  a.  m.  Then  I  go  the  rounds 
to  see  that  sentries  are  on  the  job,  and  turn  in  until 
5  A.  M.,  when  I'm  called  to  inspect  the  weather.  If 
fit,  machines  are  gotten  out  and  made  ready.  They 
are  off  at  earliest  gray  light,  which  is  about  6  a.  m., 
British  summer  time. 

I  shall  close  now,  and  carry  on  with  Becky  Sharp 
for  a  while. 

Hope  all  are  well  and  enjoying  Florida's  best. 

Very  affectionately, 

Ben. 

Penzance, 
April  6,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  As  my  presence  is  required  on 
the  station  but  no  action,  it  is  a  first-class  opportunity 
to  write. 

It  rained  all  morning,  but  cleared  with  wind  after 
lunch.  I  am  standing  by  as  duty  pilot  in  case  there 
is  any  flying  to  be  done,  but  there  is  such  a  high  wind 
that  it  is  unlikely. 

Stanley  and  I  had  good  news  yesterday  in  the 
shape  of  a  wire  to  the  C.  O.  here,  asking  what  Amer- 
ican officers  were  available  for  the  boat  course.  At 
our  request  he  recommended  us  both.  The  boat 
course  consists  of  from  two  to  six  weeks'  training 
on  large  flying  boats  of  the  America  and  Felixstowe 
types.  These  are  similar  to  those  being  turned  out 
under  Justice's  supervision  in  Philadelphia.     As  we 

[190  1 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  EMracts 

will  eventually  do  most  of  our  work  with  these  large 
boats  it  is  quite  in  order  to  take  the  course.  In  fact, 
a  number  of  American  officers  have  gone  through 
already. 

Of  course  we  don't  know  when  we  shall  be  sent, 
but  we  hope  it  will  be  quite  soon.  The  station  is 
quite  the  other  side  of  England,  and  in  a  much  more 
active  area,  so  the  time  spent  there  should  prove 
interesting  as  well  as  instructive. 

Also,  as  I  have  been  partial  to  the  small  boats,  I 
am  very  keen  to  try  the  big  ones  and  see  if  they  are 
similar  at  all.  My  early  boat  training  should  come  in 
handy,  though  there  are  of  course  very  great  differ- 
ences between  the  handling  of  a  little  100  h.  p.  Cur- 
tiss  and  a  400  or  500  h.  p.  America  type. 

We  will  probably  take  one  of  Stanley's  small 
trunks  between  us,  leaving  the  rest  of  our  gear  here, 
as  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  we  will  return  here 
at  once  after  the  course. 

On  receiving  definite  orders  I  shall  wire  B.  S.  & 
Co.  to  hold  mail,  as  we  will  go  through  London  on 
our  way.  Then  I  can  also  order  a  suit  of  blues 
in  London  and  have  a  try-on  when  coming  back.  We 
will  have  some  white  uniforms  made  here  at  a  local 
tailor's,  as  it  will  probably  be  very  hot  in  July  and 
August. 

The  "flappers"  at  Bazeley's  have  packed  off  to 
school,  after  two  more  pleasant  evenings  of  cards, 
singing  and  dancing.  Eventually  I  shall  mail  you 
a  photo,  snapshot  of  the  group  taken  Easter  Sunday 
afternoon.  Stanley  quite  "fell"  for  the  girl  with  the 
wonderful  complexion,   and  has  drawn  down  conse- 

[  191  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

quently  unlimited  joshing  from  the  rest  of  us.  It 
affords  a  most  welcome  relief  from  shop  talk,  etc., 
to  get  out  for  a  social  evening  now  and  then.  Stanley- 
is  already  looking  forward  to  the  happy  days  of 
summer  vacation. 

I'm  very  glad  that  the  lost  letters  arrived.  Ruth 
also  writes  of  delayed  ones  showing  up.  Hope  they 
didn't  go  via  Washington  because  they  said  too  much, 
but  if  so  I  will  soon  hear  more  of  it  from  the  depart- 
ment. 

There  is  some  chance  of  my  finding  some  of  the 
"home  team"  at  Felixstowe,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  Chas.  or  some  of  the  others  shouldn't  happen  to 
be  sent  at  the  same  time  as  I.  That  will  be  entirely 
a  matter  of  luck. 

As  to  finances,  unless  of  some  material  reduction 
in  pay  or  increased  expenses,  I  should  be  able  to  save 
nicely  on  my  present  basis. 

Oh,  yes,  it  costs  us  something  to  live  all  right, 
but  nothing  like  as  much  as  at  Norfolk.  My  mess 
bill  for  the  month  runs  between  £6  and  £7,  or  $30 
to  $35,  which  includes  6  bob  for  the  steward  who 
looks  after  our  rooms,  etc. 

No  doubt  I've  seen  more  area  of  Cornwall  than 
you  did  when  travelling  with  the  Clarks,  but  on  the 
other  hand  the  benefit  of  detail  was  yours.  Outside 
of  our  home  town  here,  I've  only  seen  Falmouth, 
Truro  and  St.  Ives,  but  as  I've  already  written  the 
day  at  St.  Ives  was  very  enjoyable.  From  a  thou- 
sand feet  I've  had  a  look  at  most  of  the  famous  coves 
and  headlands  on  and  around  Land's  End  and  Lizard. 
Some  of  the  spots  looked  very  attractive,   and   one 

[  192  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

might  well  get  there  some  time  during  the  smnmer 
when  off  duty. 

Tennis  should  be  well  under  way  by  the  time  we 
get  back  from  our  course,  even  if  we  go  at  once.  The 
C.  O.  hasi  made  tennis  compulsory  three  times  a  week, 
which  is  a  first-class  idea.  A  bit  later  in  the  season 
it  will  be  possible  to  play  several  sets  after  supper. 
As  yet  the  courts  are  not  ready  but  will  be  soon. 

Since  a  few  nights  ago  when  I  was  here  and  wrote 
to  you,  I  haven't  had  another  go  at  "Vanity  Fair," 
but  will  take  it  along  if  we  have  long  train  journeys 
very  soon. 

Have  had  several  good  games  of  bridge  recently. 
There  are  more  players  than  there  were,  and  so 
easier  to  get  up  a  rubber. 

Letters  come  from  Jus  quite  often,  and  in  his  last 
he  acknowledges  one  in  which  I  gave  a  bit  of  detail 
about  my  previous  station.  Hope  to  be  able  to  give 
him  the  dope  after  the  course  on  big  boats. 

Enclosures  and  letter  from  Cece  very  acceptable, 
and  help  me  keep  posted  on  all  that  is  doing. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  "Farviewites." 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

Felixstowe, 
April  7,  1918. 

My  "rough  log"  reads:  London;  got  up  late;  saw 
Gilchrist  Stockton;  Berkeleys — ordered  suit  of  blues; 
caught  afternoon  train ;  arrived  Felixstowe  6  P.  M. ; 
bunked  with  Hawkins,  Schieffelin  and  Potter. 

[  193  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

This  was  the  dawn  of  one  of  the  happiest  and  most 
satisfactory  periods  of  my  life.  These  three  priceless 
comrades  took  me  into  their  large  fire-placed  room 
and  warmed  me  to  the  core  with  a  fellowship  that 
had  been  sadly  lacking  since  parting  with  the  "home 
team."  We  had  a  couple  of  weeks  of  North  Sea  fog, 
in  which  I  was  taught  the  mysteries  of  boat  navi- 
gating, did  much  machine  gun  practicing,  and  had 
a  couple  of  instruction  hops.  The  fact  that  I  too 
had  been  instructed  by  "Kitty"  Kantner  helped  a  bit 
in  my  gaining  their  confidence.  Tex  Hawkins  re- 
ceived permission  to  cut  out  the  usual  long-drawn-out 
course  on  smaller  boats,  and  started  me  directly  on 
the  r-2a's.  This  did  not  prove  to  be  a  mistake  in 
my  case,  as  I  had  learned  on  small  boats.  Felixstowe 
was  never  a  disappointment.  It  still  holds  the 
charm  of  being  the  premier  fighting  station  of  the 
R.  N.  A.  S. 

By  the  latter  part  of  April  I  was  "turned  over" 
from  the  school  flight.  On  April  25,  Steve  Potter 
was  taking  out  a  school  machine,  but  got  called  in 
at  the  last  minute  to  go  on  patrol  with  Magor,  a 
splendid  Canadian.  I  bluffed  the  Powers  into  letting 
me  take  the  instructing  job,  and  got  away  with  it 
successfully.  Steve  and  Magor  were  shot  down  in 
flames  at  5.15  p.  m.  Potter  had  the  satisfaction  of  hav- 
ing brought  down  a  Hun  machine  some  weeks  before, 
and  of  fighting  gamely  and  cleanly  to  the  end.  We 
could  not  spare  him. 

Went  out  next  day  in  an  attempt  to  find  the  Hun 
patrol.  Eleven  boats  and  three  scouts  took  part. 
Of  course  we  saw  nothing. 

[  194  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 
To  his  Mother 

Felixstowe, 
April  11,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  first  forwarded  here 
arrived  this  morning.  It  was  No.  31  of  March  26, 
and  made  the  splendid  time  of  sixteen  days,  door 
to  door. 

My  last  letter  was  written  hurriedly  and  numbered 
wrong.  I  numbered  it  No.  22  when  it  should  have 
been  No.  19.  I  hope  this  won't  create  much  con- 
fusion, if  any. 

Am  comfortably  located  in  a  large  room  with 
three  Ensigns,  who  have  been  here  on  the  boat  work 
several  months.  They  are  Yale  fellows  who  trained 
under  Kantner  at  Buffalo,  names  Schieffelin,  Potter, 
Hawkins.  They  are  by  all  odds  the  best  fellows  IVe 
been  with  since  leaving  the  "home  team,"  and  I  an- 
ticipate having  good  fun  with  them.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  there  is  nowhere  to  go  short  of  London,  for 
Ipswich  does  not  seem  to  have  many  attractions  and 
is  a  short  train  trip,  anyhow. 

Two  fellows  whom  I  met  at  Cattewater  have  also 
been  sent  for  boat  course — Ensigns  Compo  and  Eaton, 
trained  at  Pensacola.  They  have  done  some  good 
patrol  work — about  twice  as  much  as  I  have — ^but  no 
small  boat  flying,  so  it  should  be  about  fifty-fifty  on 
taking  up  the  big  boat  work. 

The  mess  is  good — quite  as  plentiful  as  Penzance. 
There  is  a  comfortable  card-room  in  connection  where 
I've  enjoyed  several  games  of  bridge.  Our  room  is 
in  an  old  school  building  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from   the    station    and   mess.      So    we    sharpen    our 

[195] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

breakfast   appetites    by   strolling   across    country   in- 
stead of  going  in  the  car  which  makes  one  trip. 

The  past  three  days  have  been  very  foggy,  and 
today  no  better,  so  there  has  been  no  flying  at  all. 
Good  chance  for  machine-gun  practice,  however,  and 
getting  settled  a  bit. 

The  account  of  Easter  good  times  sounds  very 
natural.  It  is  just  about  a  year  ago  since  I  used 
to  beat  it  for  Black  Point  at  every  opportunity,  and 
about  a  week  from  now  that  I  struck  Miami  and 
started  the  great  adventure. 

Am  getting  along  with  "Vanity  Fair,"  and  cer- 
tainly do  enjoy  it.  Old  Thack  looks  at  things  in  a 
very  human  way,  and  often  rather  quizzically  too. 
Words  or  descriptions  that  would  have  seemed  strange 
do  not  now  that  I've  been  living  here. 

Well — cheerio,  everybody! 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Felixstowe, 

R.  A.  F.  Station, 

April  16,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Yours  of  March  30  came  this 
morning,  also  letters  from  Jus  and  George  Williams. 
Last  night  cable  came  through  from  B.  S.  &  Co.: 

"Well  love  how  are  you  answer. 

Chase." 

So  I'm  posted  quite  to  date  from  all  departments. 
I  have  written  to  B.  S.  &  Co.  to  cable  as  follows: 

[  196  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

"Cable  Forwarded  Felixstowe  answered  well  love 

Lee. 

Shiprah." 

This  should  go  through  in  a  day  or  so  and  post  you 
up  to  date. 

Glad  to  hear  the  Jax  news.  Will  keep  your  dates 
in  mind  and  head  letters  for;  Germantown  in  a  couple 
of  weeks.  .  .  . 

The  postal  of  Fort  Marion  came  through  O.K. 

It  seems  queer  to  have  left  a  comfortable  spring 
climate  for  this  cold,  wet  place.  It  has  been  foggy 
and  raining  almost  continuously  for  the  nine  days 
I've  been  here,  and  much  colder  than  in  Cornwall. 
I've  written  for  my  trunk  and  all  my  "gear"  to  be 
sent,  anticipating  a  considerable  stay  here. 

Of  the  nine  bad  days  it  has  been  possible  to  fly 
around  the  harbor  three  of  them,  so  I've  had  three 
instruction  flights  on  the  big  boats.  They  are  not 
very  difficult  to  handle  after  having  learned  on  small 
boats,  and  it  is  largely  a  matter  of  opportunity. 

The  patrols  from  here,  as  carried  out  by  the  war 
flight  (to  distinguish  from  the  school  flight),  are 
more  interesting  than  those  at  my  previous  stations, 
and  the  work  of  a  second  pilot  of  a  large  boat  is 
more  varied  than  that  of  a  small  seaplane  pilot.  So 
I  hope  to  be  able  to  stay  and  work  into  it,  as  have 
the  three  Ensigns  who  have  been  here  several  months. 

It  is  fascinating  being  in  one  of  the  big  boats  for 
the  first  time.  I  looked  back  from  the  bow  at  the 
two  pilots,  another  passenger  and  the  engineer,  well 
mixed  in  among  great  tanks  and  boxes.     It  seemed 

[  197  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

more    like    an    H.    G.    Wells'    story    than    the    real 
thing. 

We  are  comfortable  with  enough  coal  fires  in  spite 
of  the  continued  wet,  and  the  mess  is  good. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  and  a  pleasant  migration  north- 
ward. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Mr.  J.  C.  Chase 

Felixstowe, 
April  21,  1918. 

Dear  Dad:  Yours  of  several  dates  have  always 
been  welcome,  though  answered  only  through  letters 
to  Ma  v.,  which,  as  always,  have  been  for  family  con- 
sumption. 

Am  I  to  understand  that  Randall,  Jr.,  is  just 
going  into  something,  or  soon  sailing?  If  he  comes 
via  England  I  shall  certainly  want  to  see  him,  and 
could  arrange  to  get  leave  at  the  proper  time,  given 
notice. 

I  spent  Thursday  afternoon  and  Friday  morning 
in  London.  Disposed  of  cash  at  a  fair  rate  of  <£! 
per  hour,  and  came  back  the  better  for  it. 

We  had  a  streak  of  discouraging  weather  so,  after 
ten  days  of  almost  continuous  rain  or  fog,  I  decided 
to  pack  off,  as  they  say  here.  This  trip  enabled  me 
to  have  a  final  trial  of  my  new  blue  uniform,  and  to 
purchase  such  accessories  as  black  shoes,  blue  coat, 
etc.  The  "blues"  should  come  in  very  handy,  and 
most  of  the  fellows  have  a  suit  of  them.  By  keeping 
them  entirely  for  London  and  evening  wear,  one  is 

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Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

sure  of  a  presentable  uniform.  This  business  is 
fairly  hard  on  uniforms,  due  to  greasy  wires  and 
fittings.  In  this  large  boat  we  are  so  protected  that 
in  summer  we  won't  need  any  additional  coats  or 
wraps. 

Having  received  a  letter  from  George  Williams, 
I  called  at  his  headquarters  Thursday  afternoon.  He 
came  to  dine  with  me  at  the  American  Officers'  Inn, 
and  took  me  to  see  "Chu  Chin  Chow,"  a  musical 
extravaganza.  We  enjoyed  this  very  much,  especially 
the  chance  of  chewing  over  the  home  news  and  present 
situations.  George  is  wild  at  the  slow  and  unbusi- 
nesslike people  he  has  to  deal  with,  and  I  venture  he 
jars  some  of  them  into  faster  motion  than  they  have 
ever  known  before.  He  is  looking  twice  as  well  as 
ever  before,  and  very  military  and  on  the  job,  which 
is  a  good  one. 

A  clear  morning  Friday  lured  me  back  here,  only 
to  have  the  weather  get  worse.  Yesterday  afternoon 
late  I  had  the  best  flight  so  far,  going  up  alone  with 
Hawkins  (except  for  the  two  engineers).  That  is 
to  say,  I  got  all  the  coaching  for  an  hour,  and  made 
about  ten  landings. 

Hawkins  (one  of  the  three  veteran  Americans 
here)  recommended  me  as  O.K.  to  go  on  the  war 
flight,  so  after  one  flight  with  the  head  instructor  I 
will  do  so.  This  will  then  mean  being  second  pilot 
(with  Hawkins,  I  hope),  and  not  doing  much  flying 
but  getting  good  practice  in  navigation  and  machine 
gunnery.    This  is  "Tex"  Hawkins,  a  Yale  fellow. 

To-day  being  Sunday,  there  is  a  prohibitive  wind 
blowing.     I   sinned  all  morning  and  won  three  out 

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Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

of  five  rubbers.  There  are  some  very  good  bridge 
players  here — usually  three  or  four  tables  going  in  the 
evening. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  I  will  change  into  other 
garb  and  take  a  ten-minutes'  run  with  Potter,  and  a 
bath.  This  is  the  best  we  can  do  for  exercise  in  this 
weather,  but  are  planning  tennis  soon. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

Felixstowe, 
April  28,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  At  last  Uncle  Sam  has  favored 
us  again  and  we  have  all  gotten  batches  of  mail  to 
make  us  happy.  Yours  of  April  2  and  6  came 
through,  and  the  package  with  socks,  fountain  pen, 
chocolate  and  raisins,  all  very  welcome,  and  many 
thanks  for  same.  This  morning  Snooks  (Schieffelin) 
couldn't  find  any  socks  so  I  passed  him  a  pair  of 
new  ones  and  he  was  very  pleased,  indeed.  I  say 
this  morning,  because  it  was  when  we  got  up.  Being 
Sunday,  and  rainy,  the  hour  was  11.30,  which  was 
just  in  time  for  lunch. 

The  past  week  weather  has  improved  a  lot  and  so 
we  have  been  busier.  I've  gone  on  four  patrols  as 
second  pilot,  once  each  with  Hawkins  and  Schieffelin, 
and  twice  with  an  Englishman,  Trumble.  It  is  much 
more  interesting  work  than  it  was  at  Newlyn.  I 
don't  expect  to  go  back  there  and  have  written  for 
all  my  things. 

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Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

A  few  days  ago  I  had  another  crack  at  my  old 
game  of  instructor.  Having  proved  O.K.  on  the  big 
boats  I  was  allowed  to  instruct  Compo  and  Eaton, 
also  Millar  (English),  who  was  my  flight-commander 
at  Newlyn.  With  my  small  boat  training  and  the 
interest  of  the  Ensigns  here  I've  been  able  to  grad- 
uate to  the  war  flight  in  less  than  half  the  usual 
time,  and  so  am  much  set-up.  In  the  meantime  I've 
taken  every  opportunity  for  machine-gun  practice. 
There  is  some  chance  of  getting  a  Hun  machine  from 
this  station. 

There  is  very  little  going  on  apart  from  the  busi- 
ness at  the  station  about  which  I  suppose  not  much 
can  be  said.  A  few  days  ago  I  got  a  hair-cut  on  the 
station.  One  of  the  stewards  did  the  job,  quite  well 
too.  He  was  a  barber  on  passenger  steamers  for 
eighteen  years  and  had  crossed  on  the  New  York, 

There  is  a  good-sized  hall  on  the  station  in  which 
movies  run  every  evening  for  the  exorbitant  sum  of 
tuppence.  The  cinema  is  not  bad  as  a  number  of 
films  are  American.  "The  Voice  on  the  Wire'"*  now 
running,  also  "Judex."  We  go  every  couple  of  days 
after  supper,  or  rather  dinner. 

Haven't  played  bridge  for  a  week;  when  flying 
improves  bridge  falls  off,  and  most  of  the  time  is 
spent  either  flying  or  waiting  for  machines  to  be 
ready.  In  that  it  is  like  any  other  air  station.  Lots 
of  delays  and  waits. 

Two  Lifes  came  yesterday  and  were  muchly  en- 
joyed. They  are  on  the  table  in  the  middle  of  our 
room  where  I'm  now  writing,  for  the  delectation  of 
all  visitors. 

[  201  ] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

The  notice  bell  has  rung  so  I  must  "ring  off"  and 
proceed  to  supper. 

Lots  of  love  to  every  one. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Ms  Brother 

Felixstowe, 
April  28,  1918. 

Dear  Jus:  The  second  pair  of  glasses  arrived  un- 
broken and  will  be  all  right.  Unless  I  need  them 
specially  before  my  next  trip  to  London,  I  will  wait 
until  then  and  have  them  bent  to  fit  my  features  by 
an  expert.  If  necessary  I  can  bend  my  face  to  fit 
the  specs. 

There  has  been  a  period  of  over  two  weeks  during 
which  no  mail  came  through  from  the  States,  but 
that  is  fortunately  past.  A  day  or  two  ago  letters 
came  in  fine  style  for  all  hands. 

In  the  meantime  weather  has  improved  a  bit.  I've 
managed  fifteen  hours  of  flying  here  so  far,  most  of 
it  not  at  the  wheel  myself.  Last  Monday,  however, 
I  instructed  on  an  11-16  for  two  hours,  and  since 
then  have  been  second  pilot  on  four  patrols.  Except 
on  very  long  patrols  this  is  an  observer  job  really, 
but  very  interesting.     It  means  for  me  the  following: 

Plot  courses  before  leaving,  allowing  for  speed  and 
direction  of  wind.  Make  note  of  all  latest  data  and 
reports.  While  on  patrol,  keep  watch  on  other  ma- 
chines patrolling.  Look  out  for  subs  and  hostile  air- 
craft. Keep  track  of  time  and  notify  first  pilot  when 
to    change    course.      If    following    another    machine, 

[202] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

keep  track  of  compass  course  and  time,  plotting 
course  and  positions  from  time  to  time.  If  in  action, 
drop  bombs  or  use  machine  guns,  depending  on 
whether  attacking  sub  or  H.  A.  Act  as  messenger 
boy  for  the  first  pilot,  who  usually  minds  my  as  well 
as  his  business! 

You  see  that  there  is  enough  to  make  it  interesting 
work — far  more  so  than  on  the  seaplane  patrols  in 
which  we  did  not  often  go  out  of  sight  of  land.  Here 
we  are  frequently  away  from  landmarks  or  seamarks 
for  two  or  more  hours.  Also  the  possibility  of  an 
engagement  with  hostile  aircraft  makes  it  more  lively 
work,  and  more  dangerous. 

A  Naval  aviator  here  who  had  previously  brought 
down  a  Hun  machine  was  himself  "done  in"  three 
days  ago.  He  was  a  corking  fellow,  Ensign  Steve 
Potter,  one  of  the  Buffalo  unit. 

Ruth  says  she  read  in  an  American  paper  that 
U.  S.  Naval  aviators  had  already  accounted  for 
12  submarines.  Somebody's  finger  must  have  slipped 
from  the  1  to  the  2  on  the  typewriter.  Obviously 
ridiculous. 

The  H-16s  that  arrive  here  from  Buffalo  have 
about  three  days'  work  done  on  them  (in  addition  to 
setting  up  and  installing  motors),  comprising  a  half 
dozen  alterations.  I  know  for  a  fact  that  the  accurate 
drawings  and  information  relating  to  these  alterations 
have  gone  to  U.  S.  N.,  Washington,  with  a  special 
officer,  so  there  is  no  use  my  trying  to  tell  you  in  an 
amateur  way,  as  it  would  probably  be  censored  any- 
way. 

You  know  it  is  quite  likely  that  I  will  fly  the  first 

[  203  ]  ■ 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

machine  that  you  send  over.  When  a  certain  Naval 
officer  arrives  in  England,  which  he  will  before  this 
reaches  you,  he  will  proceed  to  take  over  one  of  these 
war  stations,  which  is  quite  equal  to  this  one.  For  his 
war  flight  of  r-2  (H-16)  he  will  obviously  resort  to 
those  of  us  that  are  here,  as  there  are  practically  no 
other  trained  boat  pilots  in  England.  That  means 
another  move  in  from  two  to  four  weeks,  and  prob- 
ably to  a  very  disorganized  station  until  the  turn-over 
to  American  ratings  and  officers  is  complete.  Good 
dope,  though,  and  the  C.  O.  will  be  a  fighter. 

Well,  cheerio  to  every  one,  and  I  hope  the  Naval 
aviation  progress  is  not  such  a  mess  as  the  Army.  I 
know  your  part  isn't,  anyhow. 

Love  to  Frances  and  kids. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  his  Mother 

Royal  Station  Hotel,  Hull, 
May   3,    1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Again  I  write,  en  route,  and 
this  time  at  a  queer  place. 

Tex  Hawkins  and  I  started  after  lunch  to-day  in 
an  H-12  to  ferry  it  up  to  another  station.  Ferry  it 
means  to  take  it  to  leave  permanently. 

Tex  was  first  pilot  of  course,  and  most  of  the  time 
he  flew  the  machine.  It  is  a  single  control  machine, 
so  he  changed  with  me  for  fifteen  minutes,  just  so 
I  could  say  I  had  flown  it  part  of  the  way,  and  also 
relieve  him  a  bit  and  give  him  a  chance  to  drop  a 
dummy  bomb  or  two. 

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Foreign  Letters  and  Isfote-Booh  Ea^tracts 

It  was  very  pretty  coming  up  the  Coast  by  Yar- 
mouth and  across  the  Wash.  Then  we  came  up  the 
Humber  a  little  way. 

We  made  the  trip  easily  in  two  and  a  half  hours 
and  were  not  particularly  tired.  One  of  the  main 
features  of  the  trip  was  that  the  station  where  we 
left  the  boat  is  the  one  to  which  we  will  probably  be 
sent,  and  which  it  is  common  knowledge  will  be  com- 
pletely manned  by  U.  S.  Navy.  On  the  whole  we 
were  somewhat  disappointed,  and  can  easily  see  that 
we  are  better  off  staying  where  we  are  as  long  as 
possible. 

There  will  be  months  of  work  to  change  over  the 
station  to  our  management  and  make  it  effective. 
Also  it  is  far  from  anywhere. 

We  left  the  station  by  train  and  boat,  arriving  in 
Hull  an  hour  later.  Had  dinner  there  with  Tex  and 
secured  this  paper.  Dinner  at  the  R.  S.  Hotel  was 
not  bad. 

At  8.30  we  caught  a  train  for  Selby,  where  I  am 
now,  it  being  10.15  p.  m.  We  stay  here  until  1.15 
A.  M.,  when  a  train  from  Edinboro  to  London  comes 
through.  That  will  get  us  in  town  at  the  sweet  hour 
of  6.00  A.  M.  English  trains  no  longer  carry  sleepers, 
so  we  are  not  looking  forward  to  this  part  of  the  trip. 

The  idea  in  pushing  through  is  that  tomorrow  being 
Saturday,  shops  close  at  noon.  So  we  must  needs 
get  there  in  the  morning.  The  choice  was  to  sleep 
at  the  R.  S.  Hotel  in  Hull  and  reach  London  at 
3.00  p.  M.  We  have  to  go  to  London  to  get  back 
to  our  station,  anyhow.  So  we  plan  to  rush  around 
from  breakfast  to  lunch,  sleep  until  dinner  time,  and 

[  205  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

then   take   in   a   show,    returning   to   our   station   at 
leisure  on  Sunday  morning. 

Voila  Vhistoire,     This  station  is  not  a  very  inspir- 
ing place  from  which  to  write,  so  will  close,  hoping 
you  are  not  the  same. 
Love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

R.  N.  Am  Station,  Felixstowe, 
Wednesday,  May  8,  1918. 

Deaeest  Motheb:  My  last  scratch  was  written 
near  Hull  but  mailed  from  here. 

We  arrived  in  London  at  6.30  a.  m.  as  per  skedge, 
having  slept  a  little  on  the  seats  and  floor.  Had  a 
good  breakfast  at  Officers'  Inn  and  then  I  proceeded 
to  locate  Steve  Stone  and  Jack  Foster,  who  were 
staying  in  the  Annex.  Had  a  great  talk  with  them, 
and  finally  saw  Steve  off  on  the  train.  If  I  had  had 
time  would  have  written  a  letter  to  go  with  him.  He 
is  returning  for  a  few  months  in  the  United  States 
as  the  result  of  having  been  four  days  adrift  one 
time.  He  is  quite  all  right  now,  however,  and  has  a 
great  experience  to  talk  about. 

Went  to  an  oculist  and  had  my  glasses  fitted  and 
bought  a  tennis  racket.  Lunched  at  a  restaurant  with 
Tex  Hawkins  and  Jay  Schieffelin.  Went  to  head- 
quarters after  lunch,  but  Lieutenant  Edwards  was 
busy.  I  caught  a  train  back  here  that  afternoon,  it 
being  rather  fair  weather,  but  found  it  mean  on  arriv- 
ing here. 

There  has  been  little  doing  for  three  days.     Yes- 

[206] 


■y 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

terday  weather  was  fair.  I  almost  got  out  twice. 
Second  attempt  a  water  pmnp  broke.  Started  b.  &  e. 
(bright  and  early)  this  a.m.  instructing.  Cylinder 
cracked  at  the  end  of  an  hour.  After  lunch  went 
out  again  and  stayed  2^  which  was  satisfactory. 
This  is  therefore  the  best  day  I  have  had  since 
Friday.  After  tea  at  4.30  I  came  over  to  our  quarters 
and  the  American  contingent,  now  increased  to  eight, 
had  an  hour  of  tennis,  "baby  in  the  hat,"  and  baseball 
with  tennis-ball  and  racket.  We  lured  a  couple  of 
Englishmen  into  it  also. 

The  two  most  recent  Ensigns  to  arrive  are  Ives 
and  McNamara,  who  have  been  doing  unusually  good 
work  at  one  of  the  small  stations.  Then  Bob  Clark 
is  here  waiting  for  his  seaplane  to  be  fixed.  He 
came  in  with  motor  trouble  while  patrolling  from 
the  next  station  to  the  south. 

Some  one  tells  me  that  a  Ledger  was  being  de- 
voured at  the  mess — addressed  to .  me.  I  shall  try 
to  locate  it  to-morrow. 

Our  plans  are  quite  unknown  to  us  (that  sounds 
a  trifle  Irish,  doesn't  it?).  But  at  any  rate  we  have 
to  move  to  town  as  the  station  quarters  are  crowded 
and  will  be  unable  to  accommodate  the  increased 
number  of  Americans  being  sent.  There  is  a  pretty 
good  hotel  which  will  do. 

Don't  know  how  long  we  shall  be  here,  but  probably 
not  more  than  six  weeks  or  less  than  one.  With 
better  weather  there  is  more  flying,  and  that  is  the 
main  thing. 

Your  No.  35  of  April  10  is  the  latest  to  arrive. 
I  read  therein  that  mail  from  me  is  weeks  slow  also. 

[  207  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

There  must  have  been  considerable  tie-up  among  the 
mail  steamers.  At  any  rate  my  cable  by  request,  of 
about  that  date,  must  have  gone  through  O.K.,  or  I 
should  have  heard  again  no  doubt! 

A  letter  from  Jus  written  January  6  arrived  yes- 
terday, after  carelessly  travelling  around  in  France 
and  England.  The  fact  that  this  is  my  third  station 
in  England  makes  it  understandable,  though  not 
commendable  I 

This  will  go  to  Germantown,  where  I  suppose  you 
will  be  sporting  among  the  grandchildren.  Wonder 
if  I  shall  know  them  when  I  come  back.  Love  to 
them,  and  all  at  414. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

R.  N.  Am  Station,  Felixstowe, 
Saturday,  May   11,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother;  Having  taken  two  turns  at 
machine  gun  practice  there  is  nothing  in  particular 
for  me  to  do  balance  of  morning,  the  usual  fog  pre- 
vailing at  sea. 

I  located  and  enjoyed  greatly  the  first  of  the 
Ledgers  to  arrive.  It  was  like  sitting  in  Gramp's 
big  red  chair  on  Sunday  to  peruse  the  photo,  section 
before  the  fire  here. 

The  local  papers  and  weeklies  are  full  of  the 
Zebrugge  and  Ostende  Naval  stunts.  Every  one  is 
glad  to  see  the  Navy  putting  over  some  good,  live 
action.  Although  we  know  the  Navy  is  and  has  been 
doing  its  part  right  along,  and  not  by  any  means 
sitting  away  in  harbors  as  some  critics  seem  to  think. 

[  208  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Day  before  yesterday  was  fine.  Tex  and  I  went 
out  at  6.30,  returning  by  11  a.  m.  He  was  first 
pilot. 

We  were  scheduled  to  do  early  morning  patrol 
again  yesterday,  so  I  took  the  machine  as  first  pilot 
and  Eaton  went  as  second.  I  did  the  flying,  of  course. 
We  were  roused  at  3.45  a.  m.,  but  didn't  get  away 
until  6.30,  due  to  one  machine  not  being  O.K.  when 
tested.  This  was  lucky  for  me,  as  we  secured  a  newer 
type  when  we  went  at  6.30 — similar  to  the  boats  Jus 
is  turning  out  in  Philadelphia  factory.  Then  the 
other  machine  on  the  patrol  went  on  out,  and  we  had 
to  meet  the  boys  at  a  rendezvous  eighteen  miles  at 
sea.  This  was  good  practice  in  accurate  navigation, 
especially  as  it  was  foggy  and  the  visibility  was  only 
a  couple  of  miles.  Alkali  Ike  (Eaton)  spotted  the 
other  machine  just  as  we  reached  the  timed  spot,  so 
we  carried  on  patrol  for  two  hours  and  came  in,  as 
the  fog  came  lower.  We  had  to  keep  down  under 
500  feet. 

Having  had  breakfast  at  4.30  we  enjoyed  another 
at  9,  after  which  I  machine-gunned  and  turned  in 
until  3.30  p.  M.  Found  Jack  Foster  had  arrived  for 
boat  course,  and  had  a  long  chatter  with  him.  Charley 
Fuller  is  attached  to  the  London  oifRce  for  a  while. 

We  all  have  to  move  up  town,  just  two  miles  from 
the  station.  This  is  due  to  an  influx  of  Ensigns.  As 
all  could  not  be  accommodated  at  the  Manor  House, 
all  must  leave.  It  will  be  inconvenient  and  less  jolly, 
but  of  no  vital  importance;  we  have  reserved  rooms 
at  the  only  decent  hotel,  as  per  enclosed  folder,  and 
will  move  to-day  or  to-morrow. 

[209] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

It  now  lcx)ks  as  though  Tex  Hawkins,  Jay  S  chief - 
felin  and  I  would  stay  here  for  a  while — weeks? — 
months? — in  order  to  instruct  the  eight  additional 
Americans  here  for  training. 

I  hope  letters  are  coming  through  from  me  by 
now,  and  also  look  every  morning  for  a  batch  of 
delayed  ones  from  U.  S.  A.  We  are  all  in  the  same 
boat,  however! 

Lots  of  love  to  Germantowners,  and  especially  for 
Ma  Velvet. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

R.  N.  Air  Station,  Felixstowe, 
May  17,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Letters  and  magazines  have 
been  plenteous  and  welcome  in  the  past  week,  and 
have  made  up  for  their  delay  by  coming  in  bunches. 
We  have  all  been  favored,  though  mine  came  through 
two  days  ahead,  due  to  being  addressed  B.  S.  &;  Co. 
There  is  such  a  quantity  addressed  to  U.  S.  N.  head- 
quarters that  it  is  slow  in  sorting. 

The  past  week  weather  has  improved  greatly,  and 
consequently  more  flying.  Several  patrols  and  two 
or  three  trips  as  instructor  have  helped  pass  the  time 
pleasantly. 

Yesterday  we  were  off  for  a  big  patrol — I  was 
with  Schieffelin,  and  Compo  and  Eaton  were  in  an- 
other boat.  Of  the  four  machines  to  start  those 
piloted  by  the  Americans  were  the  only  ones  to  get 
off,  so  patrol  was  abandoned.  We  had  good  bombing 
and  machine-gun  practice,  however. 

[210] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

I  had  an  interesting  trip  on  a  destroyer  recently, 
and  expect  another  soon. 

Have  just  been  ordered  to  another  school — this 
time  for  bombing  and  aerial  navigation — and  expect 
to  leave  here  in  a  day  or  two,  knowing  not  the  why 
or  wherefore.  I  am  rather  sorry  to  leave  here  just 
now,  but  one  cannot  learn  too  much  at  this  game. 
I  remarked  a  few  days  ago,  "Well,  it's  more  than  a 
year  and  I  have  just  now  finished  my  schooling." 
Don't  know  how  much  more  time  this  will  mean,  but 
should  be  valuable  anyhow.  Will  pass  through  Lon- 
don, en  route,  and  notify  B.  S.  &  Co.  of  my  changed 
address.  Expect  I  would  go  direct  to  the  American 
station  from  there. 

Chas.  Fuller  is  attached  to  U.  S.  N.  headquarters 
in  London,  so  no  doubt  I  shall  see  him. 

It  is  lunch  time  and  we  "push  off"  on  a  stunt  at 
3.00  p.  M.,  so  I  had  best  close  herewith. 

Hoping  this  reaches  you  in  Germantown,  and  with 
best  to  all  hands. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

Felixstowe, 
May    18,    1918. 

First  successful  "stunt" 

We  left  Harwich  Harbor  on  a  beautiful,  quiet 
evening.  Jay  Schieffelin  and  I  were  on  board  the 
destroyer,  Redgauntlet,  for  the  second  time,  and  felt 
much  at  home.     I  spent  a  comfortable  night  in  the 

[211] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

First  Lieutenant's  cabin,  and  rose  with  alacrity  at 
3.30  A.  M.  We  enjoyed  coffee  and  eggs.  The  Red' 
gauntlet  stopped  at  4  p.  m.  and  pulled  up  the  lighter. 
We  went  on  board  with  the  crew  and  started  prepa- 
rations at  once.  In  fifteen  minutes  we  were  ready 
to  try  the  engines.  The  port  engine  was  stubborn. 
After  twenty  minutes  of  desperate  heartbreaking 
failure  she  finally  "kicked"  and  ran.  By  this  time 
Tex  and  Joe  Eaton  in  one  machine,  and  Clayton 
(R.  A.  F.)  in  another,  were  already  taxi-ing  about, 
so  we  were  slipped  to  the  North  Sea.  Then  we  saw 
a  fine  gray  Zeppelin  above  us,  probably  using  his 
camera  ten  to  the  minute. 

At  five  o'clock  Clayton  led  off.  Jay  opened  up 
and  tried  to  get  off.  We  were  loaded  to  the  limit, 
and  it  was  only  after  some  ghastly  bouncing  that  we 
stayed  up.  Then  we  tore  after  the  others.  Clayton 
was  climbing  slowly  toward  the  Zeppelin,  but  quite 
needlessly,  for  she  simply  rose  higher  and  higher, 
luring  us  toward  the  Bight.  It  was  a  glorious  pink 
and  blue  dawn  there  in  the  east,  and  an  attractive 
prize  to  chase,  but  Clayton  wisely  abandoned  the 
stern  chase  after  twenty  minutes,  and  steered  the 
prescribed  courses. 

Jay  and  I  changed  off  every  hour,  which  made  it 
an  easy  trip.  We  sighted  Blavaand  Point,  Denmark, 
and  then  steered  for  Tershelling,  actually  making 
Haaks  light  vessel.  At  this  time  we  photographed 
some  German  mine  layers,  and  Dutch  trawlers. 
From  Haaks  we  cut  for  Yarmouth,  and  thence  to 
Felixstowe,  arriving  after  7^  hours  of  flying. 

In  the  afternoon,  not  feeling  too  tired,  I  instructed 

[212] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

for  2%  hours,  making  my  record  day  in  the  air  a 
little  better  than  ten  hours. 

I  went  out  as  first  pilot  on  two  attempted  stunts, 
with  McNamara  for  second.  Neither  was  successful. 
Each  time  we  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Redgauntlet, 

To  his  Mother 

American  Officers'  Inn,  London, 
May  21,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Your  latest  received,  before 
leaving  Felixstowe,  with  much  pleasure,  also  a  letter 
from  Jus.  Both  mention  having  heard  rumors  of  an 
accident  some  time  ago. 

I  am  very  sorry  indeed  that  rumors  should  come 
to  you  this  way,  and  naturally  it  put  you  in  an  un- 
comfortable position.  No  one  has  a  better  right  to 
first  news  than  you.  At  the  same  time  I  felt  justified 
at  the  time  in  not  telling  of  an  incident  which  is  not 
unusual  in  this  work. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  Newlyn  I  went  on  patrol 
with  a  green  observer.  We  got  lost,  were  out  until 
long  after  dark  and  finally  landed  near  a  lighthouse. 
The  seaplane  broke  up  and  I  swam  to  the  light. 
The  observer  stayed  with  the  plane.  I  spent  the  night 
in  what  proved  to  be  Eddystone  Lighthouse  and  was 
taken  ashore  next  day.  The  floats  and  the  observer's 
body  were  picked  up  the  next  day.  He  had  not 
stayed  with  the  floats  or  he  would  have  been  saved. 
It  was  after  this  that  I  visited  Falmouth  and  St.  Ives. 
A  few  weeks  later  I  lost  another  machine  at  sea,  due 

[213] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

to  a  broken  connecting  rod.  We  were  picked  up  very 
soon  by  a  trawler. 

My  reasons  for  not  writing  of  it  at  the  time  were 
as  follows: 

It  was  quite  possible  that  it  would  not  pass  the 
censor  (as  this  may  not).  I  could  not  see  that  the 
knowledge  of  it  would  in  any  way  benefit,  assist  or 
comfort  you.  I  thought  you  would  simply  be  worried 
about  it  and  think  more  of  the  possible  repetition  than 
of  the  fact  that  I  had  gained  experience  and  gotten 
out  all  right.  Also  that  you  would  fear  that  I  had 
sustained  shock  or  had  been  otherwise  weakened,  and 
that  I  should  not  be  going  on  with  the  work,  whereas 
I  was  quite  fit  the  next  day;  and  that  I  might  not 
want  to  continue  while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  am 
keener  now  than  before. 

The  mistake  I  made  was  in  believing  that  you 
would  not  hear  of  it  for,  say,  six  months. 

I  am  very,  very  sorry  that  you  did  hear  through 
other  sources.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better 
to  write  of  it  at  once.  At  any  rate,  you  may  rest 
assured  that  the  only  consideration  was  to  save  you 
anxiety. 

I  am  making  a  special  letter  of  this  in  order  that 
if  censored  the  usual  news  will  go  through  in  another 
letter  which  I  will  write  at  once. 

I  see  that  my  Eddy  stone  accident  occurred  March  3. 

•  •  •  •,  •  •  •  •  • 

A  visit  to  headquarters  this  a.  m.  uncovered  the 
fact  that  I  am  to  go  back  to  the  same  station  and 
continue  boat  flying.  Will  be  with  Tex  Hawkins 
and    Schieffelin    for    a    couple    of    months,    anyhow. 

[214] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

This  is  absolutely  satisfactory  and  I  am  very  happy 
to  go  on  with  them. 

Lots  and  lots  of  love,  dear  Mother. 

Ben. 

^May  21,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  I've  just  finished  writing  to 
you,  not  very  well,  about  my  lighthouse  escapade, 
and  having  done  so  will  only  add  that  I  hope  you  will 
be  able  to  see  why  it  seemed  at  the  time  better  not 
to  write,  and  how  sorry  I  am  that  the  news  came  in 
by  the  back  door. 

Came  to  London  yesterday  in  pursuance  of  orders 
telling  me  to  report  at  a  new  station  for  a  course  in 
bombing  and  aerial  navigation.  Met  Bobby  Stocker 
at  the  Officers'  Inn  and  went  to  the  theatre  with 
him.  He  and  Mose  Taylor  going  for  the  same 
course.  Stopped  in  to  see  Lieutenant  Edwards  this 
A.  M.  and  found  that  my  orders  had  been  cancelled 
(though  I  not  notified),  and  so  I  returned  to  boat 
work.  This  is  really  quite  satisfactory.  The  course 
would  have  led  to  very  different  work,  on  land  ma- 
chines, and  I  feel  that  I  am  exceptionally  prepared 
for  boat  work.  The  new  work  would  have  been 
attractive  and  I  should  not*  have  renounced  it  vol- 
untarily, but  am  perfectly  well  pleased  to  be  going 
back  to  carry  on  with  Tex  and  Jay. 

Bobby,  Mose,  and  I  were  to  replace  three  out  of 
ten  Ensigns  already  at  this  school  who  were  not 
getting  away  with  it.  One  of  them  was  given  a 
reprieve,  so  my  orders  to  go  were  cancelled. 

Stopped  in  and  saw  George  Williams;  also  ordered 

[215] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

another  green  uniform  and  had  a  hair-cut.  Got  in 
touch  with  Chas.  He  is  in  Lieutenant  Edwards'  office 
for  the  time,  but  was  off  on  a  trip  to  look  over  some 
wrecked  Gothas  brought  down  night  before  last.  We 
lunched  at  the  American  Embassy.  Saw  Admiral 
Sims.  Chas.  invited  me  to  the  spare  room  in  the 
flat  which  he  and  Lieutenant  Edwards  have,  and  I 
am  writing  from  there.  Moved  over  from  the  Officers' 
Inn  for  the  night,  and  have  just  enjoyed  a  bath  and 
changed  into  my  blue  uniform.  Feel  very  cool  and 
comfortable.  It  is  summer  weather  here.  The  change 
has  come  quite  rapidly.  I  guess  we  really  had  a 
late  spring. 

Weather  has  been  good  to  us  recently.  Sunday  I 
was  up  twice;  5.00  a.m.  to  12.30  as  2d  pilot  with 
Schieifelin,  2  to  4.30  as  instructor.  Am  not  likely  to 
better  that  record  for  some  time  to  come.  Monday 
as  first  pilot  for  three  hours  and  a  half.  Expect  to 
get  plenty  of  work  from  now  on,  and  am  rejoicing 
that  it  is  so. 

This  should  reach  you  on  arrival  in  Camden.  Wish 
I  could  ride  in  the  envelope  for  a  week's  visit  and 
back  again  as  easily.  Hope  yoiu*  trip  was  up  to 
standard. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

R.  N.  Air  Station,  Felixstowe, 
May  27^  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Two  letters  from  Jax  with 
enclosures  received  yesterday,  and  to-day  the  box  with 

[216] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

chocs,  and  molasses  sweater,  all  most  welcome.  I 
had  given  up  for  good  this  consignment  as  we  had 
heard  at  times  that  no  more  parcels  could  he  sent 
unless  a  request  O.K.'d  by  the  C.  O.  was  sent  to  us 
first.  Jay  Schieffelin  had  a  lot  of  cigars  sent  and 
they  have  not  come  through  yet. 

Since  writing  from  London  I  have  spent  a  pleasant 
evening  with  Charley  Fuller  there.  We  met  at  the 
Officers'  Inn  after  dining  separately — I  with  George 
Williams.  There  we  enjoyed  a  bit  of  dancing  and 
an  amateur  entertainment,  then  retired  to  his  rooms 
for  a  bicker  that  lasted  late,  and  permitted  a  thorough 
discussion  of  our  jobs,  companions  and  prospects. 
Charlie  will  be  at  headquarters  some  months,  perhaps. 
There  is  the  opportunity  to  make  the  job  just  as  big 
as  the  incumbent  wishes,  and  Chas.  is  a  natural  hustler 
and  so  he  should  do  well.  He  is  helping  Lieutenant 
Edwards  in  the  supervision  of  personnel  in  England 
and  Ireland.  (Just  the  U.  S.  N.  R.  F.  Ensigns, 
of  course.) 

Breakfasted  with  Chas.  and  lunched  at  the  Em- 
bassy with  him  and  Gilchrist  Stockton.  Caught  an 
afternoon  train  back  here. 

Tex    Hawkins    has    left    permanently    for    K , 

the  all-American  station  up   coast   from  here.     Jay 

S ,    Eaton    and    I   will   probably    follow   by   the 

end  of  this  week,  and  be  replaced  here  by  others  to 
be  trained. 

At  present  this  is  a  far  more  active  and  desirable 
station  in  every  way,  but  of  course  we  have  no  choice 
in  the  matter  as  this  will  remain  an  English  station. 
The  other  place  should  improve  at  once  on  the  arrival 

[217] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

of  the  Lieutenant-Commander,  who  is  to  be  the  C.  O. 
It  must  improve  as  it  couldn't  get  worse!  Hawkins 
and  I  saw  the  place  when  we  took  an  H-12  there 
from  here. 

This  is  a  great  experimental  station  and  I  could 
write  some  interesting  things  of  the  new  work  going 
on.  Will  try  to  get  some  of  it  to  Jus  for  use  at 
the  Naval  Aircraft  Factory.  I  suppose  that  the 
proven  experiments  are  passed  along  through  the 
Admiralty  as  soon  as  possible,  however. 

Have  managed  a  few  hours  of  instruction  recently. 
Day  before  yesterday  took  up  three  French  officers 
for  a  joy  ride,  which  they  seemed  to  enjoy. 

I  am  glad  you  had  a  chance  to  do  something  for 
Johnny  Shober,  as  he  is  a  first-rate  fellow.  Was  one 
of  the  editors  on  the  Pennsylvanian  under  whom  I 
worked  as  a  Freshman. 

Enjoyed  some  tennis  yesterday  afternoon,  it  being 
windy  and  thick  enough  to  stop  flying.  To-day  is 
fine  and  sparkling — a  regular  Camden  day.  There 
have  been  no  patrols,  however,  and  only  two  school 
machines  are  operating,  so  I  haven't  gotten  up  as  yet. 
Expect  to  get  a  machine  to  use  after  tea.  Say  5  p.  m. 
to  7.30  or  8  if  it  is  still  fine.  Ives  and  McNamara 
are  going  with  me,  after  which  they  will  be  able  to 
carry  on  as  instructors  when  Schieff  and  I  are  gone. 

When  in  London  I  mailed  a  little  blouse  to  Cece — 
supposed  to  be  Irish  linen.  Hope  it  gets  through  the 
customs  or  whatever  hindrances,  and  fits.  The  shop 
girls  were  amused  and  so  was  I  when  purchasing 
same. 

I  also  purchased  some  strawberries  for  our  break- 

[218] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

fast  at  Charley's — costing  4^.  a  box,  which  is  some 
price.  It  is  pretty  early  for  them  I  guess,  but  they 
were  wondrous  good. 

Phil  seems  to  have  been  enjoying  a  lively  time 
as  Class  President,  and  I  suppose  in  June  it  will  be 
livelier  still.  Glad  he  has  secured  some  company  for 
the  summer. 

Camden  will  seem  queer  without  Jus'  family  at 
Summerfold.  It  will  make  a  big  hole  in  the  personnel 
available.  How  about  the  Sailers,  Churchills  and 
Holladays  ? 

England  seems  to  have  considerable  range  of 
climate  even  though  it  is  so  tiny.  In  Cornwall  now 
it  is  like  Philadelphia  in  June  and  July.  London 
was  just  short  of  oppressive.  Here  it  is  more  like 
Camden  in  June,  and  though  going  around  without 
overcoats  still  the  air  has  some  snap  to  it.     On  foggy 

days  it  is  chill.     I  suppose  at  K on  the  Humber 

it  will  be  still  cooler.  Should  be  a  comfortable  place 
for  the  summer,  but  I  would  like  to  move  South  when 
October  comes. 

Lots  of  love  to  the  family.  My  best  to  Ralph  and 
Clarence  and  any  one  else  interested.     I  hear  we  may 

have  some  Cadillacs  for  service  cars  at  K ,  but 

don't  expect  to  get  much  use  out  of  them. 

As  always, 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — Will  cable  about  the  1st  of  June  probably  as 
per  request. 

[219] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

American  Officers*  Inn, 

5  Cavendish  Square,  London,  W.  I. 
June  9,  1918. 

Deakest  Mother:  Some  time  since  I  last  wrote 
but  have  cabled  in  the  meantime  to  Camden,  "Good 
trips.  Well."  This  should  reach  Camden  about  the 
time  of  your  arrival.  I  wanted  to  indicate  that  work 
was  progressing  all  right  without  mentioning  flying. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  several  attempted  trips  in  the 
last  ten  days  were  failures,  due  to  inability  to  get  the 
boats  off  the  water.  For  long  runs  they  are  so 
heavily  loaded  that  it  is  a  matter  of  perfect  water 
conditions  and  luck.  But  we  have  had  some  good 
ones  too,  which,  with  school  work  thrown  in,  have 
given  me  enough  to  keep  happy.  About  twenty 
hours  in  the  air  for  the  past  two  weeks.  The  flying 
has  worked  out  better  too,  so  that  we've  had  tennis 
at  least  four  times  in  ten  days. 

The  London  papers  mention  in  their  official  flying 
news  that  "one  of  our  North  Sea  patrols  of  five  ma- 
chines encountered  an  enemy  formation  of  twelve 
machines,  bringing  down  two."  (Just  my  luck  not 
to  be  on  that  trip — the  first  long  one  I  had  missed 
for  some  time.)  "Two  of  our  machines  were  forced 
to  land  with  engine  trouble  and  are  interned  in  Hol- 
land." 

We  were  all  much  relieved  to  get  cables  from  the 
first  pilots  of  these  machines  reporting  all  crews  safe 
in  Holland.  The  first  pilot  of  one  was  Joe  Eaton, 
of  whom  I  have  written  at  times.  He  is  probably 
the  first  American  interned  in  Holland — certainly  the 
first  American  Naval  Aviator. 

[220] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Two  days  ago  the  C.  O.  went  out  on  early  patrol 
with  the  War-Flight  Commander,  and  they  were 
brought  down  by  five  Hun  machines  at  4.30  a.  m. 
It  was  good  strategy  for  the  Huns  all  right,  as  we 
had  considered  the  early  morning  patrols  pretty  safe. 
By  ten  o'clock,  nothing  having  been  heard  of  this 
machine  since  4  a.  m.,  a  search  was  sent.  The  best 
Canadian  pilots  went  in  one  machine,  and  Schieffelin 
and  I  in  another.  At  the  end  of  three  hours  Gordon 
spotted  what  was  left  of  the  wrecked  machine  with 
the  crew  of  four  all  safe  on  top  of  it.  When  shot 
down  they  had  crashed  badly  so  that  the  machine  was 
sinking  quite  fast.  The  Huns  landed  near  by  in 
small  seaplanes  and  did  not  shoot  them  up,  for  which 
surprise  the  wrecked  ones  were  rather  pleased.  Of 
course  the  Huns  could  not  pick  them  up  in  small 
machines  had  they  wanted  to.  The  happy  conclusion 
was  that  we  landed,  took  two  in  each  boat  and  flew 
back  the  thirty  miles  to  base,  no  one  the  worse  for  it. 

Jay  and  I  got  our  orders  that  night,  and  Friday 
we  packed  and  proceeded  to  London.  Yesterday  we 
hair-cutted,  shopped,  tailored  and  visited  head- 
quarters,   where   Lieutenant   Edwards   gave   us    four 

days'   leave   before   proceeding   to   K .      Now    it 

will  be  too  much  peace  and  quiet,  and  no  Huns  for 
months  probably. 

Yesterday  afternoon  we  took  in  a  baseball  game. 
Navy  vs,  Canadians.  Had  supper  with  Chas.  and 
Jay,  which  lasted  late  at  Le  Petit  Trianon,  and 
settled  the  affairs  of  the  war.  Rose  late  and  luxuri- 
ously this  morning.     I  am  going  to  South  Godstone, 

[221] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

« 
Surrey,  this  p.  m.,  and  spend  a  night  or  two  at  Angle- 
field  with  the  Cousins  Steel. 

I'm  thrilled'  at  the  thought  that  this  letter  goes 
to  Camden.  There's  no  place  like  it,  but  Jay  and  I 
manage  to  agree  that  all  the  Penobscot  Bay  region 
is  wonderful. 

Lots  of  love  to  all.  Affectionately, 

Ben. 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

June  17,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  finds  me  installed  in  new 
quarters  at  what  seems  to  be  my  permanent  station 
at  last.  On  arriving  here  I  found  a  goodly  mail 
which  I  will  read  again  before  closing  this  letter  and 
catch  all  questions. 

Letters  from  here  are  censored  by  an  officer  before 
leaving  the  station,  which  is  not  so  good,  and  will 
mean  that  in  really  busy  flying  time  there  will  be  not 
much  that  I  can  write  about. 

First, — the  seven  days  of  leave  just  enjoyed.  Jay 
Schieffelin  and  I  left  Felixstowe    (here  censored). 

Sunday  took  the  5.30  train  tq  S.  Godstone.  Cousin 
Sophie  met  me  at  the  station  and  we  walked  to 
Anglefield;  pleasant  evening.  Next  afternoon  we 
motored  via  taxi  to  Yorke  Manor,  Lingfield,  the 
estate  of  Mrs.  Spencer  Clay,  to  see  Steve  Stone.  He 
was  out,  however.  I  caught  an  evening  train  to 
London. 

Tuesday  morning  I  called  on  Dr.  Peirce,  to  whom 
I  had  been  recommended  by  Cousin  S.  He  gave  me 
an  appointment  at  noon  and  one  the  next  morning, 

[222  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Eoctracts 

totalling  about  three  hours,  during  which  he  put  in 
two  gold  fillings.  Am  now  comfortably  fixed  for 
some  time  to  come,  and  he  should  be  too,  with  ^yq 
guineas  for  the  job. 

Lunched  Tuesday  with  Myron  Hofer  and  two 
others,  and  went  to  a  play  with  a  Naval  Aviator 
named  Perrin,  to  a  private  dance  after  the  play, 
given  for  the  Ofiicers'  Inn  contingent — very  fine. 
Wednesday  morning  was  easily  consumed  at  the 
tailor's  (Berkeleys,  Victoria  Street)  and  headquarters. 
The  Berkeleys  people  are  slow,  and  I  was  trying  to 
get  my  new  green  uniform  in  time  to  enjoy  it  on 
leave.     Managed  to  get  it  finally. 

Took  an  afternoon  train  to  Lingfield  and  spent  a 
pleasant  evening  and  morning  with  Steve  Stone.  He 
was  there  under  the  convalescent  branch,  and  I  was 
invited  just  to  see  him.  He  may  be  in  the  United 
States  by  August,  or  even  July.  Yorke  Manor  is 
a  wonderful  old  place.  In  peace  time  it  was  beauti- 
fully kept  up,  but  now  of  course  they  have  to  let 
things  go,  having  no  gardeners.  They  used  to  have 
fifteen  men  at  work  on  the  lawns;  now  none. 

Lunched  with  Chas.  and  Jay  on  Thursday  and  saw 
one  more  play  in  the  evening.  It  was  by  the  author 
of  Peter  Pan,  and  leading  part  played  by  DuMau- 
rier,  Jr.     Liked  it  very  much. 

Friday  we  lunched  with  Chas.  again  at  the  Em- 
bassy and  packed  off  on  the  5.30  train — that  is, 
Compo  and  I  did.  We  had  all  the  luggage,  and  Jay 
was  to  meet  us  at  the  train.  He  missed  it  by  ^yq 
minutes,  but  took  the  next  and  simply  had  a  shorter 
night  to  sleep  in  Hull. 

[  223  ] 

/ 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

Thus  endeth  the  week's  leave,  which  was  extremely 
enjoyable  and  very  much  needed,  as  we  have  all  been 
doing  a  pretty  steady  amount  of  flying. 

We  arrived  here  Saturday  morning,  and  were  wel- 
comed with  open  arms  by  Tex  Hawkins.  We  looked 
about  and  saw  the  Commanding  Officers,  English  and 
American.  I  am  in  a  small  cabin  belonging  to  some 
one  off  on  leave,  and  don't  know  which  of  us  will  be 
out  of  luck,  but  think  I  will.  .  .  . 

Well,  there's  nothing  cryptic  about  it,  and  it  simply 
means  plugging  along  and  overcoming  lots  of  minor 
obstacles. 

Letters  that  Tex  has  written  have  been  censored 
and  he  reprimanded,  which  seems  to  make  it  vital  to 
stick  to  generalities,  so  I  can't  say  anything  about  the 
equipment  except  that  some  of  Jus'  stuff  is  here  and 
is  considered  a  superior  article.    Of  course  it  would  be. 

Yesterday  afternoon  Jay  and  I  took  a  three  hours' 
walk  and  ran  across  a  most  interesting  ruined  moat, 
with  castle  entrance,  and  archways,  and  secret  cham- 
bers. Imagine  our  surprise  on  discovering  it  to  be 
the  famous  Thornton  Abbey.  We  are  going  again 
on  a  week  day  when  the  Greybeard  who  has  been  in 
Lord  Yarborough's  family  seventy  years  will  be  able 
to  take  us  into  the  castle  itself. 

Life  is  coming  regularly  and  is  much  prized.  The 
Ledgers  have  strayed  somehow,  only  one  having 
reached  me.  If  you  like  to  send  your  own,  it  would 
not  be  more  than  a  week  older. 

The  fourth  box  arrived  just  before  I  left.  I  save 
the  bar  choc,  for  patrol,  as  we  can  get  a  kind  of  small 

[  224  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

choc,  for  occasional  nips.  The  little  soft  sweaters  are 
fine,  and  I  almost  always  have  one  on.  It  is  quite 
light  here  until  10  p.  m. 

Your  latest  letter  reports  arrival  in  Gtn.  on  May 
29,  and  made  excellent  time.  I  think  you  had  better 
continue  letters  B.  S.  &  Co.,  but  can  use  this  address 
if  you  want  to  try  it  out,  just  for  a  letter  or  two. 
Jay  and  I  had  a  handkerchief  blow-out  one  day,  of 
which  Phil  should  receive  some  eventually. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


To  his  Sister 


KiLLINGHOLME, 

June  26,  1918. 


Dear  Cece:  Your  letters  have  been  very  welcome 
indeed  and  I  always  intend  answering  them,  but 
usually  end  up  by  just  writing  to  Mother,  'cause  I 
know  you  will  get  the  news  as  quickly  that  way. 

Every  once  in  a  while  I  hear  the  honk  of  a  "Cad" 
and  it  always  makes  me  think  of  you  or  Phil  driving 
around  Camden.  There  are  several  Cadillacs  here, 
but  I  haven't  been  in  one.  The  nearest  I  will  come  to 
it  will  be  if  I  get  a  bike  to  shove  around  the  roads. 

It  is  4.30  p.  M.  and  I  am  comfortably  propped  up 
in  bed.  This  time  it  goes  to  prove  that  I'm  just 
recovering  from  a  little  attack  of  influenza.  Have 
had  fever  for  three  days  but  none  to-day,  and  expect 
to  be  up  to-morrow.  Also,  I  don't  expect  to  fly  about 
six  hours  to-morrow,  if  that  is  any  comfort  to  know. 

The  Doc.  here  is  the  same  who  was  at  Norfolk, 

[225  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

Dr.  McAlpin,  and  a  corker,  so  that  makes  it  very 
nice.  A  lot  of  people  have  influenza — it  is  a  sort  of 
epidemic,  the  way  every  one  has  grip  in  Philadelphia 
in  March  and  April.  Tex  Hawkins  has  been  laid  up 
but  will  soon  be  O.K.,  also  several  other  people  I 
know.  In  the  meantime  a  few  of  the  remaining  bum 
English  pilots  have  managed  to  smash  three  boats, 
which  makes  us  all  the  more  anxious  to  be  out  and 
doing. 

When  I  got  up  to-day  and  looked  in  a  mirror — 
good-night!  I  thought  I  was  a  tramp.  Finally  I 
got  out  some  shears  and  cut  off  a  few  inches  of 
beard  and  then  filed  it  down  with  a  nail-file,  so  that 
my  safety  razor  could  take  hold  without  getting 
tangled.    All  O.K.  now. 

Tell  Mother  that  the  tennis  things  arrived  from 
B.  S.  &  Co.,  but  alas,  alack!  There  is  no  place  to 
use  them. 

I'm  going  to  keep  some  pigeons  after  the  war  if  I 
can  afford  the  good  ones.  Some  carriers  here  are 
worth  anywhere  from  $100  up,  a  pair. 

Hope  the  shirtwaist  I  sent  from  London  will  be 
somewhere  near  right.  I  always  forget  how  big  you 
are,  but  here's  hoping. 

Tell  Bowse  I  used  up  250  gallons  of  first-class 
gasoline  the  other  morning — just  like  water! 

Sorry  I  can't  give  any  details  about  the  station 
here  but — the  Censor  would  get  me! 

Love  to  the  family,  and  best  regards  to  all  our 
mutual  friends  in  Camden. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

Ben. 

[  226  ] 


•  Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

To  his  Mother 

U.  S.  N.  A.  S.,  Kjllingholme, 
July  1,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Am  sending  this  to  London  by 
Tex  as  he  is  off  for  a  week's  leave.  He  came  here 
without  same,  and  has  needed  it  right  along,  and  been 
run  down,  so  that  influenza  hit  him  much  harder  than 
it  did  me.  I  am  quite  O.K.  again,  having  been  on 
my  feet  four  days  now,  and  will  fly  again  to-morrow. 

Yesterday  we  took  supper  of  sandwiches  and  pop 
out  to  a  near-by  woods  and  enjoyed  it  very  much. 
I  am  going  to  get  a  bike  very  shortly  in  order  to  get 
to  Lord  Yarborough's  golf  course,  which  is  open 
to  us,  and  is  about  seven  miles  away.  Bikes  are  the 
only  means  of  getting  about  as  petrol  is  unobtainable 
for  pleasure. 

I've  received  a  good  batch  of  letters  recently  and 
package  of  socks,  via  Mile.  Parre,  from  France. 
There  is  absolutely  nothing  of  interest  going  on  here 
except  the  business  of  the  station.  Tex  and  I  are 
going  to  get  a  double  room  as  soon  as  possible  and 
get  fixed  comfortably,  but  no  knowing  how  long  it 
will  be. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  in  Camden,  and  to  Daddy  when 
you  write. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

KiLLINQHOLME, 

Tuesday,   July   9,    1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  A  week  with  very  little  activity 
has  passed  since  writing.  There  has  been  fair  enough 

[  227  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

weather  and  just  the  usual  routine — ^with  a  consider- 
able amount  of  standing  by  for  flights  that  don't 
come  off. 

Tex  Hawkins  is  due  back  from  leave  in  a  day  or 
two.  According  to  instructions  he  sent  us  a  crate  of 
grapes  and  tomatoes  (these  were  a  surprise),  which 
is  the  most  acceptable  fruit  now  obtainable.  The 
tomatoes  are  not  bad  with  salt,  and  really  seejn  like 
fruit. 

The  need  for  fruit  even  at  8^.  a  pound  is  con- 
siderable, as  we  are  still  operating  under  the  English 
mess,  and  hope  for  much  improvement  when  the 
U.  S.  N.  takes  over  and  breaks  open  cans  of  fruit 
and  vegetables.  The  mess  at  present  is  not  com- 
parable at  all  to  the  Newlyn  or  Felixstowe  grub, 
but  it's  not  really  so  bad,  just  monotonous. 

Sunday  I  borrowed  a  bike  and  went  for  a  ride 
with  Lotta  Lawrence  over  to  Lord  Yarborough's 
estate  to  look  at  the  golf  course.  It  is  seven  miles, 
and  we  are  agitating  for  some  tennis  courts  on  the 
station  for  more  convenient  and  frequent  exercise. 
Lotta,  by  the  way,  is  a  pilot,  not  a  fair  damsel  as 
the  name  might  indicate! 

Lawrence  and  Lynch  arrived  a  couple  of  weeks 
ago — ^they  were  in  the  bunch  at  Palm  Beach,  spring  a 
year  ago,  and  both  good  boat  pilots.  Several  other 
boat  pilots  trained  at  Hampden  Roads  have  arrived 
in  the  past  few  days. 

Yesterday  I  was  second  upon  the  list  and  stood 
by,  in  other  words  remained  here  at  the  flight  office, 
relieved  only  for  meals.  To-day  I  am  "first  up,'*  and 
hope  to  get  out  some  time  during  the  course  of  the 

[228] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

day,  as  I  am  "fed  up"  with  having  been  here  from 
5  A.  M.  to  7  p.  M.  yesterday,  and  5.30  a.  m.  to  now, 
which  is  10  A.  M.  Tuesday. 

I  will  tell  you  how  to-day's  five  hours  have  passed 
to  show  you  that  doing  nothing  is  in  a  general  way  a 
bore,  but  microscopically  interesting. 

The  Duty  Officer  woke  me  at  5  a.  m.,  and  I  in- 
quired why  not  earlier — as  it  seemed  to  be  a  nice, 
pink  morning  and  the  patrol  should  be  off  in  half  an 
hour.  The  D.  O.  said  there  was  no  patrol  ordered, 
and  just  to  stand  by  for  emergencies,  so  I  promised 
to  jump  right  out  of  bed,  and  rose  at  5.15.  By  5.30 
I  was  ready  for  breakfast.  As  I  crossed  to  the  mess 
hall  the  American  reveille  started  around  camp — a 
bugler  and  drummer,  the  latter  with  a  big  snare-drum. 
The  bugler  gave  tongue  to  the  familiar — "I  can't  get 
'em  up,  I  can't  get  'em  up,  I  can't  get  'em  up  in  the 
morning,"  while  the  snare-drummer  went  tump, 
tump,  tump,  tumtump,  over  and  over.  Then  the 
English  reveille  blew,  and  carried  me  back  to  Catte- 
water  and  my  first  weeks  with  the  R.  IST.  A.  S. 

The  D.  O.  and  my  second  pilot.  Garrison,  were 
already  enjoying  fried  eggs  as  I  plunged  into  the 
depths  of  porridge,  and  for  the  fifteenth  time  refused 
tea.  It  has  long  been  a  contention  of  mine  that  the 
English  go  too  far  by  half  when  they  offer  you  tea 
for  breakfast,  especially  at  5.30  a.  m. 

In  due  course  we  ambled  down  to  the  flight  sheds 
and  I  supervised  the  testing  of  my  boats'  engines — 
which  were  O.K.  Then  we  retired  to  the  flight  office. 
The   Duty   Officer  had   a   fire   built,   and   in   fifteen 

[  229  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

minutes  we  were  drowsing  off  under  the  effect  of  the 
increasing  warmth. 

I  tried  to  read  a  bit  in  Enid  Bagnald's  "A  Diary 
without  Dates,"  but  actually  fell  asleep,  while 
"Garry"  made  no  pretenses  and  tore  off  a  good  two- 
hours'  nap. 

By  seven-thirty  we  despatched  a  messenger  to 
wake  our  reliefs  and  hound  them  to  breakfast.  Jay 
Schieffelin  arrived  at  eight-thirty  to  relieve  me,  and 
we  passed  the  time  of  day  for  a  few  minutes,  as  he 
had  just  been  to  town  and  had  looked  at  bicycles 
for  me. 

One  can  easily  eat  another  breakfast  when  the  first 
is  at  5.30,  as  is  demonstrated  by  U.  S.  Naval  Aviators 
daily.  Having  had  my  quota  of  eggs  early,  and  there 
being  nothing  else  worthy  of  being  eaten,  I  produced 
two  from  a  private  store,  and  asked  that  they  be 
boiled  two  minutes.  As  expected,  my  allowance  was 
still  too  great,  and  they  came  in  pretty  well  done, 
but  very  good. 

I  enjoyed  an  argument  in  which  one  "Kid"  Murphy 
tried  to  convince  the  Flight  Commander  that  he 
should  get  a  flight,  and  the  F.  C.  agreed  in  theory 
but  not  in  practice.  Most  unfortunately  there  is  not 
enough  flying  to  go  around — and  there  is  nothing 
worse  for  flying  personnel  than  not  flying  fairly 
often. 

It  is  obviously  necessary  to  have  the  experienced 
pilots  take  out  machines  when  certain  patrols  are 
necessary  and  the  equipment  very  limited.  It  is  only 
a  matter  of  time,  however,  and  I  fear  that  is  one 
thing  which  Mars  will  allow  us  in  large  quantities. 

[  230  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

To  resume:  I  came  back,  finished  the  book,  and 
started  writing  at  a  table  which  is  occasionally 
showered  with  plaster  and  sawdust  from  above,  due 
to  the  well-meant  activity  of  two  carpenters. 

The  Diary  book  is  an  entertaining  account  of  a 
V.  A.  D.'s  work  in  a  hospital.  V.  A.  D.'s  are  volun- 
tary nurses.  Of  three  books  recently  consumed,  I 
enjoyed  particularly  Ian  Hay's  "A  Man's  Man," 
Pastor  Wagner's  "Simple  Life,"  and  a  war  or  rather 
pre-war  book  called  "Sonia — Between  Two  Worlds." 

Have  been  hankering  a  bit  for  mail  in  the  last  few 
days,  though  not  particularly  deserving  any.  As  I 
write,  "Lotta"  has  brought  a  handful  which  I  see 
contains  some  from  you,  Ruth  and  Jus.  Will  resume 
after  perusal  of  same. 

In  answer  to  your  inquiries  it  is  an  interesting  fact 
to  write  that  I  was  the  first  visitor  of  any  kind  since 
1913  to  enter  the  Eddystone  light!  If  you  have  an 
Encyclo.  then  you  can  read  of  Eddystone,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  famous  lights  in  the  world. 

Eleven  o'clock  and  still  nothing  doing.  Nor  can  I 
wish  for  an  S.  O.  S.  to  come  in  merely  that  B.  L. 
may  fly — so  no  news  by  wireless  is  good  news. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  the  family  and  extra  lots  for  you. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

Thursday,  July  11,  1918. 

P.S. — ^Dear  Mother:  It  is  always  the  unexpected 
— so  before  I  could  address  an  envelope  for  my  No. 
33,    the    Squadron-Commander    came    in    and    said, 

[  231  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

"Want  you  out  in  ten  minutes."  Garrison  and  I 
hustled  into  our  flying  clothes  and  accumulated  neces- 
sary information  and  gear. 

It  was  one  of  my  most  interesting  trips,  even 
though  nothing  definite  was  accomplished.  It  was 
also  very  tiring,  as  we  were  out  until  4.30  and  passed 
through  two  storms,  in  addition  to  which  the  machine 
was  in  very  bad  balance;  we  had  left  just  before 
lunch  so  the  two  breakfasts  came  in  handy  to  tide  us 
over. 

Didn't  need  any  rocking  Tuesday  night  and  rose  at 
11  A.  M.  yesterday,  enjoying  a  shower. 

Lawrence,  Garrison  and  I  went  to  the  nearest 
metropolis  for  the  afternoon,  which  is  usually  referred 
to  as  H — ,  Hull  and  Halifax,  being  supposedly  the 
three  worst  places  in  the  world. 

Did  some  shopping,  including  a  bike,  the  least 
expensive  obtainable,  to  the  tune  of  £12,  which  hurt 
temporarily.     Also  some  books,  and  tea  with  music. 

Attended  the  cinema  last  night  and  saw  Mary 
Pickford. 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book  ' 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

July  21,  1918. 
ZEPPELIN  SCARE 

It  was  a  beautiful  night,  one  in  which  the  light 
and  dark  contrasted  sharply,  whenever  the  moon 
dodged  out  from  behind  clouds. 

[232] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

The  alarm  sounded  at  1  a.  m. — a  clear,  startling 
bugle  call,  repeated  again  and  again.  Soon,  officers 
and  men  were  doubling  to  the  hangars,  after  pulling 
on  odd  parts  of  uniforms  over  warm  pajamas. 

By  the  time  I  reached  the  concrete,  Black  Bess,  the 
night  flying  boat,  was  out  on  the  first  runway.  I 
got  my  flying  gear  and  reported  to  the  office.  "Stand 
by  for  orders"  was  the  word  so  I  proceeded  to  Black 
Bess,  and  warmed  up  the  engines.  Finally  when  we 
were  all  set,  and  everything  was  attended  to,  the 
recall  bugle  sounded.  We  felt  cheated  out  of  no  one 
knows  what  sort  of  hairbreadth  trip,  but  managed 
to  wring  a  good  night's  sleep  out  of  the  remaining 
hours.  \ 

{Black  Bess  burned  up  in  her  shed  a  couple  of 
weeks  later,  before  I  had  ever  been  up  in  her.) 


From  Note-Book 


KiLLINGHOLME, 

July  23,   1918. 


SAW   ONE,   ANYHOW! 

Went  out  with  Dick  McCann  for  second  pilot  on 
a  special  submarine  search.  Ensign  Tom  Murphy 
drew  two  circles  on  his  chart,  and  told  us  that  within 
each  there  was  an  enemy  sub  operating. 

It  was  foggy  off  Spurn,  and  even  thicker  by 
Flamboro.  Wonderful  weather  for  the  Hun,  and 
weather  in  which  he  has  always  counted  himself  quite 
safe  from  aircraft. 

We  had  just  passed  Flamboro  and  turned  on  our 
second  course  when  Dick  pointed  excitedly.     I  nosed 

[233] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

over  and  opened  up  the  Rolls  motors,  heading  at 
eighty-five  knots  in  the  direction  of  a  low,  black 
streak,  quite  two  miles  away.  As  we  approached, 
our  suspicions  were  confirmed;  there  was  no  mistak- 
ing a  Hun  sub,  fully  blown,  with  its  stepped  conning- 
tower.  I  shoved  the  boat  down  a  bit  more,  we  had 
another  200  feet  to  lose  down  to  our  400  foot  bombing 
level.  Dick  pulled  out  the  Very  pistol  and  looked 
at  me  inquiringly.  I  signalled  to  wait.  Finally  when 
I  thought  he  would  need  all  the  remaining  time  at 
his  sights  I  signalled,  and  he  fired  the  recognition 
signal.  Almost  at  once  the  nose  of  the  sub  went 
down.  In  no  time  she  was  diving  rapidly.  Just  as 
she  went  out  of  sight  we  shot  by  directly  over.  I 
split  the  boat  around  to  observe  the  eflPect  of  our 
bombs.  Sad  to  relate  they  fell  fully  seventy-five  feet 
short. 

We  then  searched  for  assistance,  found  a  convoy 
for  which  the  sub  had  obviously  been  waiting,  and 
signalled  to  one  of  the  torpedo  boats.  The  sub, 
however,  had  plenty  of  time  to  roam  off,  and  in  the 
fog  it  was  difficult  to  establish  the  position  definitely. 

Dick  thinks  that  the  sub  never  saw  us  until  we 
fired  the  recognition  signal,  and  vows  to  bomb  first 
if  he  ever  gets  another  opportunity.  It  was  his  first 
attempt  with  this  type  of  bomb  sight.  Of  course  he 
felt  badly  about  it.  It  had  the  good  result,  however, 
of  proving  our  contention  that  we  require  the  oppor- 
tunity for  occasional  practice  to  insure  accuracy. 


[284] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 


KiLLINOHOLME; 

July  29,  1918. 


CRASHED  4348 


After  weeks  of  watcliing,  waiting,  and  nursing,  my 
new  boat  came  forth  from  her  chrysalis.  When  I. 
say  new,  that  means  newly  assembled.  She  had  an 
F-2a  hull;  H-12  wings;  Rolls  Royce  engines  and 
what-not  parts  of  various  other  machines;  but  she 
was  the  pride  of  my  heart — of  our  hearts  I  should 
say — for  Harriman  and  Harris,  my  engineer  and 
radio  operator,  were  equally  interested. 

After  rather  a  boresome  day  of  standing  by,  we 
suddenly  got  orders  to  accompany  a  convoy  until 
darkness  interfered.  My  second  pilot  was  up  at 
supper,  so  Charlie  Kunkel  offered  to  go  along.  I 
sent  a  messenger  for  some  sandwiches. 

We  left  the  water  easily  at  7.30  p.  m.,  and  when  a 
hundred  feet  up  I  set  the  control  bungies  and  tied 
into  the  sandwiches.  The  boat  flew  itself  really,  and 
we  passed  over  Spurn  at  1,000  feet,  with  hardly 
more  than  a  suggestion  of  control  from  me. 

The  convoy  was  easily  located.  We  stayed  with  it 
for  an  hour,  then,  as  twilight  seemed  to  be  coming  on, 
headed  back  for  Spurn. 

Over  the  Humber  fog  had  come  in,  and  by  ten 
o'clock  it  seemed  quite  dark.  I  wished  for  the  in- 
strument lights  and  landing  lights  that  were  to  be 
installed  the  next  day.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  got 
along  equally  well,  either  by  using  the  Aldis  lamp 
and  instruments  entirely,  or  by  flying  on  feel  alone. 
This  latter  was  only  possible  due  to  smooth  air. 

It  was  pitch  dark  when  we  passed  Killingholme, 

[  235  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

and  not  a  light  to  be  seen.  I  went  as  far  as  Hull 
and  then  turned  down  against  the  wind.  When  I 
cut  the  power  and  started  my  glide  I  found  that  we 
were,  as  I  hoped,  just  passing  over  the  station  buoys. 
With  the  Aldis  lamp  in  one  hand,  I  easily  picked  up 
the  water,  levelled,  and  touched  once.  Thinking  the 
job  done,  I  waited  for  the  boat  to  settle.  Actually, 
she  was  climbing  slightly,  so  when  I  pulled  back  on 
the  controls  we  dropped  in  from  probably  twenty  feet. 
The  drop  was  not  pleasant.  Then  Harris  called: 
"We  are  filling  rapidly,"  so  I  opened  full  out  and 
rammed  away  up  on  the  mud  bank.  It  was  a  discon- 
solate lot  of  us  that  trudged  back  to  the  sheds. 

To  Ms  Mother 

U.  S.   Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

August  2,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  It  has  seemed  queer  not  to 
write  for  three  weeks,  and  several  times  I  have 
started  to,  unsuccessfully.  The  size  of  the  matter  is 
— good  weather.  In  this  last  half  of  July  I  have 
put  in  thirty  hours  which,  though  by  no  means  a 
record,  is  nevertheless  considerable,  and  second  only 
to  the  time  of  fellows  who  have  gone  as  second  pilots 
with  other  people. 

When  in  London  a  week  ago  I  cabled  to  you  and 
Ruth  to  help  tide  over  the  gap.  .  .  . 

Of  course  after  damaging  my  own  pet  at  night 
I  was  none  too  cheerful,  but  was  pleased  to  find  next 
day  that  a  week's  work  would  put  her  in  shape  again. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  it  is  the  best  boat  here, 

[  236  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

and  my  crew  have  been  awfully  enthusiastic  about 
working  up  little  finishing  touches  and  "gadgets"  to 
improve  her.  She  is  English  built,  of  course,  and 
Rolls  motors. 

On  the  30th  I  slept  late,  and  in  the  afternoon  rode 
to  Brigg  with  Doc  McAlpin  and  three  others.  Had 
a  good  little  supper  party  and  rode  back  by  daylight 
(9.30  or  10  P.M.). 

Yesterday,  more  tests,  chiefly  of  some  of  Jus'  jobs. 
Tex  Hawkins  and  I  are  doing  all  the  testing  at 
present,  and  it  is  pretty  tiresome  work.  You  hang 
around  hours  getting  the  last  few  things  done,  and 
then  the  blooming  engines  don't  run,  or  something 
else  happens.     It's  all  in  the  day's  work,  though. 

To-day  I  was  up  betimes,  and  managed  to  pull  off 
one  test  this  morning  and  one  this  afternoon.  When 
you  consider  that  each  craft  must  have  at  least  three 
tests,  it  mounts  up. 

Also  drafted  a  form  for  new  report  sheet,  and 
passed  on  Tex's  claims  for  articles  lost  or  damaged 
July  19. 

John  Jay  Schieffelin  is  due  back  to-morrow  or  next 
day  from  a  ten-day  leave.  Think  I  will  try  to  pike 
off  about  next  Sunday  for  five  or  six  days  at  least.  I 
really  need  the  rest  and  change,  as  I  have  lost  a  bit 
of  weight  in  the  last  few  weeks.  I  have  put  on 
muscle,  though,  mostly  with  exercises  in  the  morning 
when  possible,  and  biking.  Think  I  will  pick  up 
again  after  leave,  and  now  that  we  are  running  an 
American  mess  here.  Doc  McAlpin  gave  me  a  good 
exam,  yesterday  and  found  me  O.K.  So  I  expect 
to  be  back  in  a  week  or  ten  days  full  of  renewed  pep. 

[  237  1 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

Have  not  quite  decided  where  to  go,  but  it  won't 
be  the  Big  City.  There  is  a  good  golf  or  tennis  hotel 
a  couple  of  hours  from  here  where  I  might  spend  a 
couple  of  days,  and  then  there  are  some  famous 
beaches  that  I  see  now  and  then  from  afar,  and  would 
like  to  visit.  Also,  it  is  the  season  for  strawberries 
and  cream,  and  plums?    Yum! 

Perhaps  I  can  travel  around  with  A.  G.  McDon- 
ald— Tex's  second  pilot  and  a  fine  fellow.  He  wants 
to  go  to  Scotland,  however,  and  of  course  I've  just 
had  a  five-hour  trip  so  I'm  not  so  strong  for  train 
travel.  Something  on  the  quiet  side  will  suit  me. 
Nous  verrons,  ... 

Will  get  a  proper  letter  for  Phil  and  have  it  type- 
written.    I'm  sorry  not  to  have  gotten  it  off  before. 

I  think  Daddy's  idea  of  putting  him  through  a  few 
hundred  minutes  of  Kantner  is  first-rate.  Tex  thinks 
so  too.  We  can't  think  of  any  one  else  as  appropriate. 
Tex  says,  "Wouldn't  you  like  to  instruct  him  your- 
self?" Yes,  I  surely  would.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
I  get  that  feeling  now  and  then  of  wondering  whether 
I  shall  ever  really  learn  to  fly  as  one  should.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty  hours  in  the  air  so  far — and  I 
knew  more  when  I  left  Miami! 

I've  been  writing  in  bed  from  9.30  to  11,  and  a 
sentry  has  come  around  saying,  "Lights  out."  For 
my  delinquencies,  please  'scuse,  and  I  must  say  I 
have  enjoyed  the  letters  from  home  just  as  much. 
I  think  the  worst  of  the  transitory  period  here  will 
soon  be  over  and  the  burden  be  divided  more.  A  few 
days'  leave  will  do  me  a  world  of  good,  and  will  write 
while  on. 

[  238  ] 


c  <•  t  c 
f  c  c 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Lots  and  lots  of  love  to  all,  and  to  Ruth  if  she  is 
with  you. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Booh 

August  4,  1918. 
BROUGH 

Fifteen  minutes'  flight  up  the  river  from  Killing- 
holme  lies  Brough,  the  site  of  a  small  English  factory 
or  shop  for  flying-boats.  Charlie  Fuller  stopped  in 
one  Sunday  on  his  way  to  Brough  to  see  a  new  type 
that  was  under  construction,  so  of  course  I  said  that 
if  I  could  get  a  boat  I  would  come  up  and  call. 

Sure  enough  that  afternoon  I  had  a  two-hour  test 
to  do  with  Curtiss  H-16  785.  With  only  Harriman 
and  another  engineer  on  board  we  were  lightly  loaded, 
without  bombs  or  M/G  (machine-gun),  and  all  set 
for  a  pleasant  trip. 

My,  but  those  Liberties  had  a  punch!  First,  we 
breezed  by  the  slipway  at  Brough,  low  and  fast,  then 
banked  well  up  and  around  again.  By  this  time  the 
available  spectators  were  all  on  the  slipway.  Then 
we  ran  low  again,  and  zoomed  almost  vertically,  two 
or  three  hundred  feet,  did  a  snappy  turn  and  landed 
not  far  away.  We  then  did  a  great  get-away,  show- 
ing how  fast  the  Liberties  pick  up  a  boat  and  fly 
away  with  it. 

By  this  time  I  was  feeling  my  oats  pretty  well,  as 
one  does  after  a  long  spell  of  no  stunting  and  flying 
young  motor  trucks.    Handling  the  boat  pretty  freely 

[  239] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

increased  progressively.  Finally,  I  decided  to  solve 
by  test  a  proposition  that  I  had  been  thinking  of  for 
some  months.  I  wrote  a  note  to  Harriman,  "Shall 
we  loop?"  He  looked  at  me  in  surprise,  and  wrote, 
"Do  you  mean  loop  the  loop?  Are  you  serious?" 
I  said,  "Yes,"  and  he  shouted  out  that  he  was  "full 
out"  for  it.  He  passed  back  the  note  to  the  other 
engineer  who  agreed  heartily.  I  felt  sorry  for  the 
lads  in  a  way,  for  they  didn't  really  appreciate  the 
risk,  and  simply  trusted  in  me. 

We  started  to  climb.  I  told  Harriman  to  move  aft 
all  loose  material,  such  as  fire  extinguishers,  signal 
lights,  etc.  At  2,200  feet  we  ran  into  clouds,  so  I 
came  down  to  an  even  2,000,  feeling  that  I  must  have 
a  definite  horizon.  Harriman  found  a  safety  strap 
and  fastened  me  in.  Then  I  circled  once  or  twice 
to  get  the  exact  position  desired,  over  deep  water, 
and  directly  in  front  of  Brough.  Then-  I  fired  a 
green  light,  thinking  it  would  be  as  well  to  have  a 
boat  ready  in  case  we  crashed.  I  passed  back  the 
Very  pistol  and  made  a  turning  motion  with  my 
hand  to  Harriman.  He  looked  a  bit  washed  out, 
and  no  doubt  I  did  too. 

I  pushed  the  nose  down  a  bit  and  watched  the  air 
speed  slip  up  to  75  knots.  The  engines  were  running 
beautifully  at  1,500  revolutions  (maximum  1,600),  so 
I  pulled  back  easily  on  the  wheel. 

With  a  long  sweep  we  were  on  our  back.  The 
engines  quit.  We  hung  there  interminably  and  a 
great  splash  of  petrol  soaked  over  us.  I  cut  the 
switches  at  once,  expecting  an  incinerating  burst  of 
flames.     By  this  time  we  had  carried  on  over  and 

[  240  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

were  diving.  I  pulled  out  of  it.  The  air  speed  still 
read  110  knots,  so  I  pulled  up  more  yet,  and  finally 
climbed  to  kill  the  speed  down  to  sixty  knots.  Then 
we  glided  quietly  down  the  remaining  1,700  feet  and 
landed.  Harriman  exclaimed,  "That  doesn't  taste  like 
petrol."  Sure  enough,  it  was  bilge  water  that  had 
given  us  the  thrill.  In  coming  out  of  the  dive  we 
had  broken  one  skid  fin,  but  that  didn't  matter  much. 

While  we  fussed  about  starting  up  the  engines,  a 
motor  boat  came  near,  full  of  officers  and  men  from 
Brough.  We  got  under  way,  planed  by,  and  swooped 
up  by  them  as  they  waved.  .  .  . 

785,  later,  sank  near  Flamboro  when  McNamara 
was  on  patrol.  An  engine  conked.  But  she  was 
salved  and  went  into  the  shop  for  extensive  repairs. 
A  good  boat.  .  .  . 

I  went  on  leave  to  Scotland  August  5,  but  not  until 
I  had  had  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with  the  skipper,  and 
confessed  my  sins.  When  I  returned,  eight  days 
later,  the  news  had  gotten  around  from  Brough,  and 
I  received  many  a  sly  congratulation  in  the  face  of 
official  condemnation. 

To  his  Mother 

Highlands   of    Scotland, 
August  10,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  My  last  letter,  written  about  a 
week  ago,  was  returned  by  the  station  censor  and  I 
had  to  tear  up  the  most  interesting  page  on  which  I 
had  a  day-by-day  log  of  the  past  two  weeks'  happen- 

[  241  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

ings.  Then  I  had  a  letter  written  to  Ruth  from 
Felixstowe  in  May  returned  by  the  C.  O.  and  got  a 
call-down  from  him  in  person,  so  it  behooves  me  not 
to  try  and  tell  you  much  of  what  goes  on.  I  hope  no 
other  letters  have  met  a  sad  fate  at  the  censor's  hands. 
The  news  of  the  past  few  days  is  certainly  glorious. 
This  morning  it  is  17,000  prisoners  and  a  big  advance. 
I'm  so  glad  you  get  word  as  quickly  as  we  do — or 
more  so.  I  have  stamped  the  house  name  here. 
Sounds  pretty  Scotch,  doesn't  it? 

(House  in  the  Woods) 

Tich-Na-CoiUe 

Grantown-on-Spey 

Scotland. 

After  spending  one  pleasant  evening  at  Ilkeley, 
Arthur  G.  McDonald  (Ensign  U.  S.  N.  R.  F.)  de- 
cided I  should  come  up  here  with  him  and  spend  the 
balance  of  the  week  with  his  Scotch  cousins.  He 
didn't  have  to  persuade  much.  It  took  us  the  best 
part  of  two  days  to  get  here,  stopping  overnight  in 
Edinboro.  Unfortunately  we  only  had  a  couple  of 
hours  there  the  next  morning,  but  one  cannot  do 
everything  in  one  week. 

The  ride  up  to  Grantown  (S.  E.  of  Inverness)  was 
beautiful.  Just  like  the  White  Mountains,  only  older 
looking,  and  with  sheep  and  heather.  We  are  staying 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  McGregor  at  their  summer 
cottage — which,  being  in  Scotland,  is  a  stone  house. 
The  others  here  are  Aunt  Meg  (Mr.  McG.'s  sister), 
Osmond,  an  English  boy,  here  recuperating,  and  the 
following  McGregors: 

[  242  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Russell,  age  9;  Norman  11;  Hilda,  14;  Hanella, 
18;  Evelyn,  22;  all  good  sports. 

The  two  boys  are  live  wires,  and  cute  as  can  be 
when  they  put  on  the  full  kilts  and  regalia  of  the 
clan.  Evelyn  is  in  her  last  year  as  a  medical  student 
at  Glasgow,  and  seems  quite  unspoiled  by  the  pre- 
vious three  years  of  it.     The  others  are  good  fun  too. 

Mrs.  McG says  that  A.  G.  McD and  I 

are  her  eleventh  and  twelfth  boys.  They  have  had 
a  number  of  Canadian  boys  here  this  and  other  years, 
but  we  are  the  first  Americans.  She  is  a  very 
motherly  Scotch  woman,  and  makes  us  feel  so  at 
home  that  we  did  not  refuse  breakfast  in  bed  this 
morning! 

The  country  is  beautiful,  as  you  need  hardly  be 
reminded,  and  the  air  bracing  but  mild — like  New 
England  in  summer.  We  are  putting  on  pounds  a 
day  with  milk,  eggs,  and  butter  in  abundance,  and  all 
the  best  country  produce. 

We  arrived  Wednesday  evening.  Thursday  we 
walked  in  the  morning,  and  climbed  "Dreggie"  in 
the  afternoon.  Yesterday  to  Loch-an-Eilan,  of  which 
I  am  sending  postcards.  We  had  lunch  at  the  Loch, 
walking  about  five  miles  each  way.  All  trips  of 
course  are  en  famille  at  least,  with  often  a  few  odd 
friends  thrown  in. 

To-day  we  are  having  a  day  off  from  Buyihrng  even 
approaching  strenuous.  Rose  late  and  am  writing — 
now  lunch  time.  This  afternoon  tea  will  be  celebrated 
in  the  near-by  woods  or  moors.  We  are  most  for- 
tunate  in   our   weather,   it   being   warm   and   bright, 

[243] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

perfect  summer  weather.  They've  had  a  fair  amount 
of  rain  recently. 

I  hear  Evelyn  stopping  at  the  piano  and  will  pro- 
ceed to  lunch — continuing  after.  Am  going  to  wire 
you  very  soon  so  that  you  may  know  what  an  unusu- 
ally pleasant  and  beneficial  vacation  I'm  having. 
Really  I  feel  100  per  cent,  better  already.  Was  pretty 
tired  nervously  when  I  came  away,  it  having  been 
seven  weeks  since  I  had  been  off  the  station  for  more 
than  an  afternoon  on  duty.  Will  see  to  it  that  I 
get  leave  again  in  four  or  five  weeks,  even  though 
shorter.  We  can  always  get  it  if  we  need  it.  Dr. 
McAlpin  sees  to  that. 

Art.  and  Mrs.  McGregor  have  just  been  shelling 
what  look  to  me  like  Telephone  Peas.  They  are  very 
sweet  raw.    Had  some  delicious  rhubarb  yesterday  too. 

Saw  a  newspaper  report  of  a  Zepp  being  brought 
down  since  we  left.  Have  an  idea  perhaps  some  of 
my  Felixstowe  friends  were  in  on  it,  but  haven't 
heard  yet. 

Have  I  told  you  that  I  had  a  short  solo  in  a  land 
machine,  just  for  fun?  It  was  easy  after  our  big 
machines,  even  though  it  had  the  (for  me)  unfamiliar 
stick  control  and  rotary  engine. 

Jay  Schieffelin  came  back  from  leave  (thus  releas- 
ing me)  looking  rosy  and  hearty.  He  spent  most  of 
the  time  at  some  smaller  edition  of  Brighton  with 
relatives  and  friends. 

Chas.  Fuller  still  in  the  Big  City  at  headquarters, 
but  seems  pretty  restless  to  get  more  action. 

Tex  Hawkins,  with  whom  I  am  rooming,  is  in 
quite  good  shape  and  doing  lots  of  work.     He  and 

[244] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

I  were  on  special  testing  of  new  machines.  I  guess 
he  and  Jay  are  now  doing  it.  Rather  boresome  work 
barging  around  near  the  station  for  two  hours  at  a 
time.  Tex  is  a  very  lovable  fellow  and  needs  me  to 
look  after  him.     He  has  no  idea  of  sparing  himself. 

I  had  a  fine  chance  to  think  this  morning  and  came 
to  the  unoriginal  conclusion  that  without  friends  one 
is  stranded.  With  them,  one  can  afford  to  live  or  die. 
Jt  always  makes  me  happy  when  I  think  of  my  real 
friends.  Of  course  friends  in  this  sense  means  loved 
ones. 

It's  a  queer  war  in  many  ways — much  too  big  for 
glamour  and  only  a  little  room  for  romance.  But  I 
think  we  have  fairly  the  best  job  of  it  in  the  air 
service.  One  wouldn't  mind  the  war  much  if  it  wasn't 
for  losing  friends.  I  am  sorry  to  read  of  Bobby 
Reath's  death.  He  was  a  little  firebrand  in  the 
fraternity  and  must  have  been  against  big  odds — or 
hard  luck. 

Hope  you  are  having  fine  Camden  weather  and 
that  Ruth  is  there  to  be  shown  the  mysteries  of  Cam- 
den, which  she  will  appreciate  more  when  I'm  the 
guide,  perhaps?  But  there  is  so  much  to  see  from  the 
scenic  viewpoint  alone  that  the  more  personal  asso- 
ciations can  well  wait. 

This  may  sound  a  funny  letter,  but  the  truth  is, 
I'm  very  much  heartened  by  my  stay  here.  Hoping 
you  are  all  the  same. 

Best  love  to  all. 

Affectionately  a  toi, 

Ben. 

[  245  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

The  following  extracts  from  the  diary  of  Evelyn 
McGregor  were  sent  to  Ben*s  mother  shortly  after  his 
accident  and,  with  permission,  have  been  inserted  here 
to  show  the  vivid  impression  which  Ben  made  upon 
his  new  Scotch  friends  during  the  five  days'  visit 
referred  to  in  his  previous  letter. 

Summer,  1918 

Grantown-on-Spey,    Scotland, 
August  6,  1918. 

This  was  a  clear  and  sunny  day,  and  consequently 
our  spirits  were  high.  In  the  morning  we  had  a  wire 
from  Cousin  Arthur  saying  he  was  coming,  and  ask- 
ing if  he  could  bring  a  boy  friend.  We  sent  off  a 
reply  to  Arthur  saying  we  would  be  delighted  to  see 
both,  and  decided,  meanwhile,  that  the  two  boys  should 
have  the  large  front  room  with  the  single  beds.  For- 
tunately, Mother  had  been  able  to  procure  some  meat 
from  the  south,  so  that  the  food  question  was  solved. 
In  the  morning,  my  sisters  and  I  looked  out  our 
clean  dresses  for  the  boys'  visit,  while  Mother  and 
Lizzie  baked  cakes  of  every  kind.  Mother  was  aw- 
fully excited  and  happy  that  Arthur  was  coming. 

August  7,  1918. 

Another  wire  was  received  from  Arthur  saying  he 
was  arriving  with  Ben  Lee  at  seven.  We  were 
amused  at  the  name  "Ben  Lee";  it  sounded  like  that 
of  a  Cairngorm  mountain,  near  Grantown, — Ben- 
Ledi.  We  were  very  curious  to  see  the  new  boy, 
and  tried  to  guess  what  he'd  be  like.     It  was  decided 

[  246  ] 


> 


^ 


c 


"^^  1^ 


J 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

that  Mother  and  Father  and  I  should  go  to  meet  the 
boys. 

In  the  afternoon  Hilda  and  I  gathered  great 
bunches  of  forget-me-nots,  marguerites  and  violets; 
we  arranged  them  prettily  and  put  some  in  the  boys' 
room.  A  most  delicious  looking  meal  was  prepared, 
the  Japanese  china  being  used  for  the  occasion;  the 
table  looked  very  pretty  with  a  large  vase  of  blue 
forget-me-nots  in  the  center,  and  scones,  pancakes, 
heather  honey,  and  other  good  war-time  things  around. 

When  the  train  arrived,  Arthur  came  up  and  shook 
my  hand  violently  and  then  introduced  me  to  Mr.  Lee. 
A  tall,  straight,  youthful-looking  boy  came  forward, 
smiled  pleasantly,  and  shook  hands.  He  seemed  just 
a  little  shy  at  first  and  did  not  talk  much  during  the 
drive  home.  I  sat  opposite  him  and  thought  how 
nice  his  face  was;  it  seemed  to  be  quite  a  beautiful 
face;  he  wore  rimless  eyeglasses,  and  behind  them  I 
noticed  two  clear,  twinkling  gray  eyes,  rather  more 
deeply  set  than  usual. 

We  soon  reached  the  house,  and  the  children  came 
forward  shyly  to  meet  the  boys.  We  had  supper ; 
the  boys  had  good  appetites  and  so  did  justice  to  the 
meal;  Arthur  and  Mr.  Lee  were  very  elated  at  the 
sight  of  pancakes. 

In  the  evening  Mme.  and  M.  Narik  came  down, 
and  Madame  sung,  ''Chantez,  ehantez,  ma  belle/'  and 
the  "Marseillaise,"  with  much  beauty  and  expression. 
She  has  a  delightful  voice.  Hilda  recited  "Dow'ie 
Dens  o'  Yarrow,"  and  Norman,  "The  Anniversary 
of  Culloden."  Hanella  and  I  were  persuaded  to 
play  our  duet,  "Schubert's  Unfinished  Symphony." 

[  247  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

Mr.  Lee  soon  found  himself  sitting  on  the  couch 
between  two  small  Highlanders.  He  must  love  chil- 
dren, for  they  took  to  him  at  once.  He  teased  them 
and  hugged  them,  and  they  were  greatly  delighted, 
but  disappointed  when  it  was  time  to  go  to  bed. 

We  had  coffee  and  shortbread  and  then  went  a  short 
way  through  the  woods  with  the  visitors.  I  walked 
with  Arthur  while  Hanella  went  with  Mr.  Lee.  She 
remarked  before  going  to  bed  how  charming  he  was. 

Thursday,  August  8,   1918. 

We  had  breakfast  at  nine.  It  was  a  warm,  sunny 
morning  and  the  two  boys  looked  awfully  nice  in 
their  white  flannels.  The  children,  whose  hearts  Mr. 
Lee  had  won,  did  not  desert  him  for  a  moment.  We 
decided  to  have  a  tramp  through  the  woods.  Mr.  Lee 
went  on  in  front  and  ran  several  times  backwards 
and  forwards  with  Norman  on  his  shoulder.  His  hair 
blew  in  the  wind  and  shone  in  the  sunshine,  and  he 
looked  charming,  running  along  the  path  through  the 
immense  pine  trees. 

We  walked  on.  For  a  time  Norman,  Mr.  Lee  and 
I  walked  together;  he  asked  me  about  my  college 
work  and  he  told  me  about  his  in  Philadelphia.  We 
came  home  by  the  side  of  the  river,  eating  wild  rasp- 
berries and  pulling  flowers  on  the  way. 

After  dinner  Mother  and  I  prepared  a  picnic  and 
we  all  set  out  for  the  top  of  Dreggie.  The  road 
passed  through  the  pine  trees,  where  the  air  was 
delightful  to  breathe,  across  the  village  and  then  over 
the  valley.  The  fields  were  white  with  marguerites 
and  the  hedgerows  thick  with  wild  flowers.     On  the 

[  248  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

left  we  could  see  the  beautiful  Cairngorm  mountains; 
their  summit  stood  out  clearly  against  the  blue  sky 
and  there  was  very  little  snow  on  them.  Mr.  Lee 
thought  they  looked  grand  and  I  told  him  the  names 
of  those  I  knew.  The  Cromdales  behind,  and  to  our 
left,  were  purple  with  heather,  and  the  clouds  cast 
dark  shadows  on  those  low  highland  hills.  For 
August  is  the  second  spring  in  Scotland.  The  heather 
and  heath  is  in  full  bloom  then,  and  the  hum  of  the 
bees  can  constantly  be  heard  as  they  dart  from  one 
bell  to  another.  > 

We  talked  about  the  Scotch  highlands  and  Mr. 
Lee  compared  them  with  the  hills  in  Maine,  and  spoke 
of  joyous  days  he  had  had  there.  He  told  me  all 
about  his  family  life  and  about  his  brothers  and  sister. 

Soon  the  road  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  we 
began  to  climb.  Several  times  on  the  way,  Mr.  Lee 
turned  to  look  at  the  beautiful  view  of  the  mountains 
and  valley  with  the  Spey  winding  through  the  pine 
forests.  I  knew  that  our  companion  had  a  deep  innate 
love  of  beauty,  and  I  was  glad  that  he  could  appre- 
ciate the  somewhat  rugged  glory  of  our  Scotch  high- 
lands. I  could  not  help  thinking  how  fresh  and 
charming  he  looked;  he  seemed  to  be  a  prototype  of 
fine  American  boyhood,  so  clean  and  athletic  and 
strong-limbed  was  he. 

Soon  we  were  crossing  the  bare  stretch  of  moor- 
land that  leads  to  the  higher  part  of  the  hill. 
We  had  a  race  to  see  who  could  get  there  first ;  Hilda 
and  Mr.  Lee  won. 

We  gazed  spellbound  at  the  wonderful  panorama 
of  mountain,  hill  and  glen.     Far  in  the  distance  we 

[  249  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

could  just  make  out  the  sea  with  the  mountains  of 
Ross  and  Cromarty  on  the  horizon.  Behind  the 
summit  was  a  bleak  desolate  valley  with  a  tiny  little 
crofter's  house  here  and  there. 

Arthur  and  I  started  to  hunt  for  peats  and  sticks 
for  a  fire.  He  asked  me  how  I  liked  Bennie.  I  said: 
"Very  much;  I  think  he  is  a  typically  good-looking 
American  boy."  "Oh,  no,"  said  Arthur,  "he  is  far 
better  than  that";  and  I  added  that  I  had  never 
known  any  American  boys. 

When  we  had  collected  enough  wood  we  lit  a  fire 
and  sat  around  in  a  circle  to  have  our  picnic.  The 
heather  around  was  a  blaze  of  purple,  and  Mr.  Lee 
picked  some,  saying  he  would  send  half  of  it  to  his 
Mother  and  the  other  half  to  his  fiancee.  We  were 
a  gay  party;  we  laughed  and  talked,  and  Madame 
sang  charming  French  songs.  At  last,  we  thought 
we  would  have  to  return.  Hilda  and  Mr.  Lee  ran 
all  the  way  down,  and  at  the  foot  they  waited  for  me. 
We  told  the  boy  that  we  were  very  happy  to  have 
him,  and  he  replied  that  we  were  not  half  so  happy 
as  he  was,  for  now  he  would  have  somewhere  definite 
to  go  on  his  next  leave.  Then  he  said:  "Friends, 
yoii  must  not  call  me  Mr.  Lee  any  longer — just  make 
me  one  of  the  family."  And  so  we  did.  Supper 
was  all  ready  and  Ben  told  us  to  hurry  and  get 
dressed,  else  he  would  have  something  to  say!  We 
had  a  good  supper  of  fresh  salmon  from  the  Spey, 
and  home-made  scones  and  pancakes.  Arthur  ate 
thirteen  pancakes  and  Ben  nine!! 

In  the  evening  Ben  and  the  children  went  into  the 

[  250  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

garden  and  he  tried  to  teach  them  baseball  with  a  ball 
he  had  brought  for  them. 

Ian  Spence  came  along  to  meet  the  American  boys, 
and  we  played  cards  till  dark.  Ian  told  me  he  liked 
Mr.  Lee  awfully,  and  added  that  he  was  just  like  a 
friend  of  his  who  had  been  killed. 

Friday,  August  9. 

We  rose  early  this  morning  and  took  the  ten  o'clock 
train  to  Aviemore,  a  small  village  about  fifteen  miles 
south  of  Grantown.  There  were  thirteen  in  the  party. 
At  Grantown  station,  Arthur  had  an  argument  with 
Father  as  to  who  should  pay  for  the  tickets.  Eventu- 
ally Arthur  put  a  pound  into  Ben's  hand  and  told 
him  to  make  Father  take  it.  But  there  was  a  Red 
Cross  box  near-by,  and  Ben  said  to  me:  "Well,  if 
Arthur  doesn't  know  what  to  do  with  it,  I'll  sort  it 
for  him,"  and  popped  it  into  the  box,  to  the  wide- 
eyed  amazement  of  Norman  and  Russell. 

At  Aviemore  we  went  into  a  wee  shop  and  bought 
postcards  and  fruit,  and  then  started  off  on  the  three 
miles'  trek  to  Loch-an-Eilan.  We  passed  through 
the  great  forest  of  Rothiemurchus,  where  some  of  the 
oak  trees  are  over  a  thousand  years  old,  and  then 
over  the  bare  wind-swept  moor.  Here  the  heather 
grew  very  long,  so  that  the  whole  heath  looked  like 
a  sea  of  purple  with  the  hills  on  the  horizon. 

When  we  reached  the  loch  the  sun  had  come  out. 
We  sat  down  on  the  grass  and  talked  while  Ben  and 
the  youngsters  skiffed  stones. 

Mother  and  my  aunt  had  stayed  behind  to  prepare 
a  meal,  and  presently  we  heard  shouts  to  come.    We 

[251] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

were  as  happy  a  crowd  as  ever  made  picnic  on  the 
shores  of  Loch-an-Eilan,  and  we  were  awfully  sorry 
when  it  was  time  to  return. 

Ben  took  Mummie's  arm  and  walked  with  her  for 
a  bit;  I  always  know  boys  by  the  way  they  treat 
Mother,  and  Ben  was  especially  gentle  with  her.  The 
family  all  collected  together  on  a  bank  of  heather, 
while  I  took  a  picture  with  Arthur's  camera.  Then 
my  aunt  took  one  with  me  in  it,  and  the  two  boys  in- 
sisted that  I  should  sit  between  them.  For  the  rest 
of  the  way  Ben  walked  with  Hilda  and  me,  and  took 
our  arms,  saying:  "Come  on,  we'll  make  Arthur 
jealous!"  He  talked  of  many  things  and  told  us 
funny  stories  about  his  life  at  home; 

At  Aviemore  station  we  studied  the  well-filled  book- 
stalls, and  discussed  Locke's  books.  The  journey 
home  was  uneventful. 

In  the  evening  Ian  came  along  and  I  played  all 
the  old  Scotch  songs,  while  he  and  Ben  sang  them 
with  great  heartiness.  A  happy  pair  they  were, 
singing  "Ye  Banks  and  Braes,"  "Afton  Water," 
"Juanita,"  etc.  Then  for  Ben  I  had  to  play  "Old 
Black  Joe,"  "  'Way  Down  upon  the  Swanee  River," 
and  others.  Later  we  went  out  to  the  garden  and 
played  hockey,  and  Ben  and  Hilda  had  what  they 
called  a  rough-house  on  the  green,  trying  to  knock 
each  other  down. 

Our  two  aviators  were  sleepy  after  their  long  walk, 
so  Hilda  and  I  persuaded  them  to  have  breakfast  in 
bed  in  the  morning,  saying  we'd  each  carry  up  a  tray. 
They  laughed  and  said,  "All  right;  that  will  be  great!" 

[  262  ] 


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Saturday,  August  10. 

Hilda  and  I  got  up  ahead  of  the  others  to  prepare 
trays  for  the  boys,  and  at  nine  o'clock  we  marched 
into  their  room  armed  with  a  breakfast  each.  They 
were  in  the  land  of  dreams,  but  soon  rubbed  their 
sleepy  eyes  and  sat  up.  Ben  looked  hke  a  youngster 
with  his  bonnie  fair  hair.  They  were  amused  that 
we  should  carry  out  our  promise,  and  glad  too,  for 
they  stayed  in  bed  until  eleven  and  got  thoroughly 
rested.  They  looked  wonderfully  fresh  when  they 
came  down,  dressed  in  white,  and  I  thought  how  very 
much  better  they  looked  than  on  their  arrival.  Ben 
wrote  letters  until  lunch  time,  while  the  others  played 
croquet.  Ben  told  me  that  he  had  written  so  many 
nice  things  home  that  his  people  would  think  he'd 
never  want  to  return  to  the  States  again.  I  thought 
to  myself  that  his  people  must  simply  adore  him;  he 
was  so  lovable  and  refined  in  every  way. 

After  lunch  Ben  and  I  cycled  up  to  the  village,  for 
Ben  wanted  to  cable  home.  On  the  way  back  Ben 
was  showing  me  how  to  chase  an  aeroplane:  he 
cycled  absolutely  quietly  and  in  a  line  behind  me. 
Suddenly  I  felt  my  back  tire  bumped,  heard  a  crash, 
and  looked  around  to  see  Ben  just  escape  a  fall.  He 
saved  himself  with  his  heel  and  hurt  it  shghtly,  so 
that  he  could  not  do  any  real  walking  during  the  rest 
of  his  visit.  Consequently  we  had  a  picnic  in  the 
woods  behind  the  house  when  we  got  home.  The 
boys  gathered  sticks  for  Mother,  who  lit  the  fire  and 
made  tea.  Then  we  spread  two  rugs  under  the  trees 
and,  to  the  amusement  of  the  others,  the  young 
people  all  crowded  on  to  the  same  rug. 

[  263  ]  I 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

After  supper  Ben,  my  sisters  and  I  talked  for  a 
long  time.  I  admired  the  boy  tremendously  for  his 
simplicity  and  sincerity,  and  for  the  loyal,  devoted 
way  he  talked  of  his  fiancee.  Simplicity  and  sincerity! 
Surely  these  are  the  most  deeply  rooted  characteristics 
of  the  greatest  men! 

Mother  kissed  my  sisters  and  me  good  night,  and 
we  laughed  when  Ben  held  up  his  face  for  a  wee 
kiss  too.     How  Mother  worships  these  soldier  boys! 

Sunday,  August  11. 

Bright  sunshine  awoke  us  this  morning  and  we 
all  dressed  in  light  frocks  for  church.  Ben  and  Hilda 
cycled,  for  Ben's  heel  was  not  yet  better.  The 
minister,  who  had  been  in  France  with  the  troops 
for  a  long  time,  and  is  a  very  decent,  broad-minded 
man,  did  a  very  kind  thing.  He  knew  the  boys  were 
staying  with  us,  and  quite  suddenly  announced  that 
"The  American  Battle  Hymn"  would  be  sung.  A 
troop  of  boy  scouts  who  were  camping  in  the  High- 
lands were  present,  and  the  minister  addressed  a 
special  sermon  to  them,  exhorting  them  to  strive  to 
be  good  and  noble  men.  They  were  bonnie,  brown- 
faced  laddies,  and  they  looked  grand  in  their  bright 
red  tartan  kilts.  We  watched  them  march  past  to  the 
skirl  of  the  bag-pipes  after  church,  and  Ben  and 
Hilda,  who  were  home  before  the  others,  went  for  a 
short  run  along  the  side  of  the  Spey. 

After  dinner  Ben  was  sleepy  so  I  persuaded  him 
to  have  a  rest.  He  was  quiet  too,  and  I  seemed  to 
know  that  he  was  dreaming  of  home,  and  a  wee  bit 
home-sick,  and  I  thought  he'd  like  to  be  alone. 

[264] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

After  tea  we  went  down  to  the  river  and  watched 
him  skip  stones.  Some  of  them  rebounded  right  to 
the  other  side.  We  admired  him  very  much,  and  he 
said,  "Oh,  my  little  sister  could  do  that  too,  and  so 
could  you  if  you  had  a  big  brother  to  teach  you." 
He  told  us,  too,  that  if  he  and  Arthur  had  another 
week's  leave  they  would  build  a  canoe  and  paddle  it 
on  the  river.     (We  do  not  have  canoes  in  Scotland.) 

In  the  evening  the  maids  went  out,  so  Mother 
thought  that  since  it  was  the  boys'  last  evening  she'd 
bake  pancakes  for  them.  She  called  them  to  the 
kitchen  and  they  were  happy  as  two  schoolboys,  steal- 
ing pancakes  hot  from  the  griddle,  when  Mother  was 
not  looking,  and  dancing  the  "Lame  Duck"  in  the 
intervals.  The  minister  and  his  wife  were  talking  to 
Father  in  the  drawing-room,  so  we  had  to  shut  all 
the  doors  lest  they  should  hear  us. 

Ian  came  to  say  good-bye  to  the  boys,  and  he  told 
Ben  that  if  he  had  nowhere  to  spend  his  leave  to 
come  to  him.  Ben  said  that  that  was  very  kind. 
"Not  at  all,"  said  Ian,  "you'd  do  me  a  kindness,  for 
I  have  no  one  here."  There  is  no  one  for  whom  I 
am  sorrier  than  for  Ian.  He  is  always  so  brave  and 
bright  and  cheerful  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  knows 
he  shall  never  be  Well  again.  It  is  hard  to  understand 
the  reason  for  all  the  seemingly  unjust  suffering  in 
the  world.  I  should  like  to  think  with  Francis  Thom- 
son, that  iti  is  but  the  "Shade  of  His  hand  outstretched 
caressingly." 

After  supper  Ben  and  my  sisters  and  I  decided 
to  have  a  short  walk  along  the  river  side,  to  the  old 
high  bridge.     It  was  a  beautiful,  peaceful  evening: 

[  256  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

the  sun  had  gone  down  in  the  west,  and  the  little 
birds  were  asleep.  A  vast  calm  had  spread  over  the 
country,  and  the  only  noise  we  heard  was  the  ceaseless 
roar  of  the  river  as  it  rushed  on  its  way  to  the  sea. 
We  wandered  on  to  the  bridge  and  stood  there  for 
a  long,  long  time,  not  talking,  but  drinking  in  the 
loveliness  of  the  scene.  The  sun  had  left  a  rosy  light 
in  the  sky,  and  the  great  pine  trees  looked  like  giants 
against  it. 

As  one  gazed,  one's  soul  seemed  to  become,  for  a 
moment  at  least,  part  of  infinity,  so  mysterious  and 
beautiful  was  the  scene.  I  wondered  what  the  others 
were  thinking,  when  suddenly  Ben  broke  the  silence, 
saying,  "My,  the  air  is  sweet  here  I"  Then  we  walked 
for  a  time  and  Ben  told  us  he  was  very  sorry  that 
this  was  the  last  evening  of  his  holiday,  and  that  it 
had  almost  been  like  home.  He  said  he'd  like  to  see 
his  friends,  Mr.  Hawkins  and  Mr.  Schieffelin  again, 
and  we  laughed  when  he  said  he  had  kissed  them 
when  he  left,  and  that  he  didn't  see  why  a  boy 
shouldn't  kiss  his  boy  friends  if  he  loved  them.  I 
told  him  I  didn't  see  why  he  shouldn't  either.  We 
were  very  sorry  and  reluctant  to  go  home  again. 

Monday,  August  12. 

We  were  very  sad  this  morning  for  Ben,  Arthur 
and  Father  left  by  the  ten  o'clock  train.  We  had 
breakfast  at  eight,  and  Ben  and  I  went  for  a  short 
cycle  run  over  the  hills — to  say  good-bye  to  them. 
We  also  wanted  to  get  some  heather  honey  for 
Killingholme. 

We  went  to  the  station  in  good  time.     Ben  took 

[  256  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Mother's  arm  saying,  "Are  you  not  going  to  say 
good-bye  to  me?'*  and  walked  up  and  down  with 
her.  She  told  him  to  come  back  as  soon  as  ever  he 
could,  that  we'd  be  delighted  to  see  him  at  any  time, 
and  to  be  sure  and  bring  a  boy  friend  with  him. 

The  train  soon  arrived,  and  once  again,  we  had  to 
say  farewell.  But  our  hearts  seemed  to  have  become 
hardened,  even  to  those  partings,  for  we  had  gone 
through  so  many  of  them  since  August,  1914,  and  so 
many  times,  alas,  the  dear  boys  had  never  returned. 

To  his  Mother 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

September  2,   1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  This  letter  covers  a  week  of 
not  much  action  and,  correspondingly,  considerable 
dissatisfaction.  But  as  it  might  be  said  that  dis- 
satisfaction is  the  mother  of  new  ideas  and  progress, 
it  has  not  been  a  wasted  period. 

Ever  since  my  return  from  leave  my  own  particular 
piece  of  equipment  has  been  under  repair,  due  to 
breakage  while  I  was  away.  So  in  the  meantime  I 
have  done  some  testing  and  some  instructing,  the 
latter  well  worth  while.  In  fact,  with  students  who 
have  had  a  couple  of  hundred  hours  on  other  types, 
instructing  becomes  a  pleasure. 

Sunday,  a  week  ago,  was  spent  rather  pleasantly. 
It  being  a  beautiful  day,  I  was  instructing.  We 
managed  to  get  stuck  on  a  sand-bar  and  had  to  wait 
eight  hours  for  the  tide  before  we  could  mote  back 
to  base.     A  launch  brought  us  in  for  lunch,  however, 

[  257  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

and  we  returned  with  books.  I  enjoyed  two  chapters 
of  Stevertson's  "Virginibus  Puerisque,"  which  Jackson 
(Ens.)   brought  along  for  me. 

Tuesday  qualified  a  pilot. 

Wednesday  rained  about  all  day. 

Thursday  called  at  3.45  a.  m.  Went  with  one  of 
my  students.  To-day  he  went  alone  and  did  himself 
proud.     Bike  riding  in  evening. 

Friday  and  Saturday,  only  general  event  each  day 
was  the  veteran  Compo  crashing  a  machine.  No  one 
hurt.  He  went  on  five  days'  leave.  Tex  left  on 
two  weeks'  leave. 

Sunday  big  wind  tied  things  up  to  my  satisfaction, 
as  I  had  the  day's  duty  to  shove  things  around. 

Monday  called  at  3.30  a.  m.  Slept  9  to  12  a.  m. 
Ran  this   afternoon,   and   showered  before   supper. 

I  am  very  much  afraid  that  we  have  enjoyed  the 
cream  of  our  year's  weather.  Wind  and  rain  have 
been  pretty  active  in  the  past  week,  contrasting  with 
a  fair  amount  of  almost  Camdenish  days  before  that 
in  July  and  August.  , 

I  see  in  my  "Line-a-day"  that  a  year  ago  I  was 
beached  for  tearing  a  wing,  and  did  water  duty  for  a 
week.  Also  note  that  I  left  for  Camden  September 
12.  It's  not  too  late  for  this  year  if  I  can  get  my 
machine  in  shape  for  a  trans-Atlantic  flight. 

Referring  to  first  paragraph.  With  our  room 
fixed  more  comfortably — two  good  easy  chairs  and  a 
table — it  has  been  pleasant  to  sit  by  the  coal  fire  and 
chin  it  over.  Tex  and  I  have  decided  (in  common 
with  most  Ensigns  over  here)  that  one  can  have 
foreign  service  or  extra  stripes.     Now  we  prefer,  of 

[  258  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

course,  the  foreign  service,  but  feel  that  we  rate 
more  action  than  we  are  now  getting,  and  that  having 
done  perhaps  150  hours  each  on  a  given  type  of 
machine,  it  is  time  for  a  change.  Whether  we  can 
accomphsh  this  does  not  rest  in  our  hands,  but  we 
will  make  the  attempt  when  Tex  comes  back  from 
leave.  So  if  you  hear  of  my  shifting  about  (except 
for  a  possible  leave  in  Scotland,  five  days  at  most) 
you  will  know  that  we  were  lucky  and  are  getting 
what  we  are  keen  about. 

Lilfes  and  Ledgers  have  arrived  recently.  No 
letters  for  a  week,  which  is  normal.  They  seem  to 
come  in  bunches  and  reach  me  in  much  the  same 
time,  however  addressed.  The  last  ones  report  regu- 
lar Camden  times  going  on.  Soon  you  will  be  enjoy- 
ing a  trip  back  to  Germantown.  In  fact,  it's  a  puzzle 
where  to  address  this,  but  will  chance  Camden.  , 

Have  written  practically  only  to  you  and  Ruth  in 
the  past  two  months,  so  you  may  have  to  assure  some 
one  now  and  then  of  my  existence.  With  shorter 
days,  longer  nights,  and  a  comfortable  table,  cor- 
respondence should  look  up. 

Lots  and  lots  of  love  to  all. 

Ben. 

P.S. — ^Almost  every  Philadelphia  paper  received 
accounts  for  one  or  more  U.  of  P.  friends  or  ac- 
quaintances. Captain  McCall,  a  friend  of  Paul's, 
among  the  latest. 

September  11,  1918. 

Deaeest  Mother:  It  is  a  good  many  days  since 
my  last  letter  but  nothing  has  occurred  in  the  mean- 

[  269  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

time.  There  has  been  a  period  of  stagnation,  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  due  to  the  fact  that  my  own 
boat  has  been  under  repair  and  that  newer  pilots 
are  getting  experience  doing  the  routine  work  that 
a  few  of  us  were  doing  before. 

Then,  too,  we  have  had  in  the  last  ten  days  three 
of  big  wind  and  two  of  rain.  Since  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember IVe  only  had  a  couple  of  hours  in  the  air  and 
that  was  instructing.  The  pupils  are  so  apt  that  it 
is  pleasant.  .  .  . 

I  spoiled  this  at  the  last  minute  by  inserting  a 
propeller  blade,  which  is  really  usually  on  the  mantle- 
piece.  Nevertheless  you  can  imagine  that  the  three- 
layer  shelf  bridging  the  two  bureaus,  with  table  be- 
tween, makes  quite  a  neat  library  and  writing  cubby. 
However,  I  prefer  to  sit  in  the  large,  blue,  upholstered 
wicker  chair  and  write  on  my  knees,  with  the  firelight 
on  my  right.  Everything  available  is  of  course  blue, 
except  a  bunch  of  orange  flowers  on  the  mantel-piece. 
Well,  if  one  can't  get  into  real  action,  might  as  well 
entrench  comfortably  and  make  the  best  of  it. 

To-morrow  I  go  on  a  twenty-four-hour  duty — run- 
ning things  on  the  beach.  So,  good-night.  Lots  of 
love.  ' 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — Four  letters  received,  "en  masse,"  and  large 
box  with  chocolates,  marshes,  knitted  socks,  books. 
Life  arrived  regularly. 

P.S.S. — Justice's  Commander  Westervelt  and  Chat 
Wetherill  here,  and  had  a  talk  with  them. 

[260] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 
To  Ms  Sister 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

September  14,  1918. 

Dear  Cece:  Your  letters  with  the  inside  dope 
about  daily  doings  and  special  stunts  are  always  very 
welcome.  I  think  you  must  have  had  a  high  old 
time  this  summer,  with  a  considerable  number  of 
boys   and   girls   available   for   swimming   parties. 

Mother's  last  letter  enclosed  some  snaps  taken  at 
the  boat-house,  with  a  whole  gang  on  the  float.  Then 
on  my  bureau  I  have  photos  of  the  boat-house  and 
of  my  "ceedah,"  taken  by  Paul  Wagner  several  sum- 
mers ago,  so  I  manage  to  remember  Camden  pretty 
easily. 

Wonder  if  I  will  dare  ride  with  you  driving  a  car? 
I'll  bet  Nana  hasn't  yet!  I  was  in  a  Cadillac  here 
one  day  for  a  fast  run  to  a  station  fifteen  miles  away, 
and  it  certainly  seemed  good  to  hear  the  familiar 
clicks  and  buzzes  that  a  Cadillac  makes.  I've  seen 
a  few  Hups  over  here  too. 

The  nearest  I  have  come  to  a  Camden  time  was 
a  month  ago  in  Scotland,  when  my  friends,  the 
McGregors,  took  me  up  "Dreggie,"  which  might  have 
been  Ragged,  and  then  to  Loch-an-Eilan,  a  bit  of 
water  very  much  like  Mirror  Lake.  It  has  a  ruined 
castle  on  a  tiny  island — I  sent  home  some  postals 
of  it. 

You  must  have  had  some  good  sport  in  haying 
time.  I'm  surprised  Alice  didn't  break  any  arms  or 

[  261  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

legs  in  her  falling  stunts.    Which  can  dive  best,  now, 
Alice  or  Barbara  Churchill? 

I've  had  some  interesting  letters  from  Ruth  since 
her  arrival.  Every  one  seems  to  have  shown  her  a 
mighty  good  time.  I'm  glad  things  were  in  full  sway 
while  she  was  there. 

How  goes  your  piano,  kiddo?  I  haven't  heard 
any  one  play  well  since  my  leave  in  Jacksonville 
before  Christmas — no  joking. 

In  case  my  last  letter  to  Mother  has  not  arrived 
this  will  acknowledge  receipt  of  box  with  chocolate, 
book,  knit  wear,  and  a  beaut  of  a  blue  sweater  done 
by  Cousin  Madge  (?).  It  just  matches  the  chair  I'm 
sitting  in. 

In  Mother's  last  letter  she  sent  an  express  check. 
This  came  through  O.K.,  and  I'm  saving  it,  as  it  can 
be  cashed  in  Denmark,  Holland,  Germany,  Austria 
or  anywhere  one  is  liable  to  be  captured  or  interned. 
Guess  the  Germans  wouldn't  give  me  much  for  it 
though. 

This  has  been  an  Al  lazy  day,  with  steady  rain 
outside  and  a  snug  fire  here  for  me.  Remember  me 
to  any  of  our  friends  you  see  in  Germantown. 

Lots  of  love. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 


[262] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 
To  his  Mother  • 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

September  24,   1918. 

Dear  Mother:  Three  letters  from  Jus  arrived 
unopened  to-day,  bringing  considerable  news.  It  cer- 
tainly was  great  for  him  to  get  to  Camden  before 
going  to  Garden  City.  I  expect  more  mail  in  a  day 
or  so.  The  bulkier  letters  are  usually  a  bit  slower 
due  to  being  stopped  and  delayed  by  the  censor. 
Speaking  of  censors,  we  have  a  queer  one  now. 
Letters  are  sometimes  delayed  a  week  before  being 
censored.  Every  one  is  pretty  sore  about  it.  I'm 
wiring  to  Jus  to-morrow,  partly  congratulations  on 
the  arrival  of  Dan,^  and  to  have  him  get  in  touch  with 
Alan  Harriman  in  New  York.  Harriman  was  my 
engineer  for  a  long  while,  though  really  superior  to 
the  job.  He  has  gone  back  to  become  a  pilot  and 
receive  a  commission. 

Received  a  nice  letter  from  Mrs.  McGregor,  ac- 
knowledging receipt  of  yours,  and  pressing  me  to 
come  back  as  soon  as  possible.  It  is  only  a  question 
of  getting  away  from  here.  Unfortunately  Tex  is 
sick  in  London  and  I  don't  see  much  chance  of 
leaving  until  he  returns. 

Your  latest  is  August  27.  The  most  recent  news 
is  via  Jus  and  Ruth.  I  hope  this  reaches  you  before 
leaving  for  Jax,  otherwise  will  be  much  delayed. 
Letter  to  Cece  was  intended  to  cover  period  between 
this  and  my  last  to  you. 

^  Referring  to  his  brother  Justice's  third  son,  afterwards  named 
Benjamin  Lee,  3d. 

[263] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

Nothing  of  particular  interest  going  on  here  outside 
of  routine  work  and  not  much  of  that  due  to  Sep- 
tember winds  and  rain.  Have  just  finished  the 
"Count  of  Monte  Cristo."  Enjoyed  it  very  much. 
September  5th  Life  arrived  recently. 

A  few  cronies  are  toasting  bread  at  my  fire  and 
calling  on  me  to  join  in. 

Lots  of  love  to  all. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

From  Note-Book 

KiLLINGHOLME. 

August  and  September,  especially  the  latter,  were 
distinctly  a  period  of  growling  and  grumbling.  A 
large  part  of  it  was  justifiable,  especially  as  the  six 
of  us  from  Felixstowe  only  got  in  about  ten  hours 
a  piece  of  flying  during  this  period. 

Whether  anything  comes  of  the  fomentation  during 
this  period,  only  time  will  tell.  It  is  safe  to  assume 
that  any  pilot  on  the  station  would  willingly  give  the 
last  ten  years  of  his  life  for  a  chance  to  get  active 
service  in  France  in  combat  work.  Most  of  us  would 
give  it  all  to  get  away. 

To  his  Mother 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

October  3,  1918. 

Deabest  Mother:  Several  letters  and  a  package 
arrived  in  the  last  few  days  and  formed,  as  always, 
a  welcome  interlude  in  the  somewhat  monotonous 
routine. 

[  264  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

Particularly  I  enjoyed  the  snapshots  of  picnic 
parties  at  Balance  Rock,  and  little  glimpses  of  the 
lake.  They  seem  so  fresh  and  up-to-date  that  it  is 
next  best  to  being  right  there.  A  long  letter  from 
Cece  gave  all  the  inside  dope  on  trips  to  Zeke's  Look- 
out, and  several  swims.  It  is  mighty  good  to  realize 
keenly  now  and  then  what  a  happy  prospect  is  in 
store  when  the  Huns  are  crushed.  It  makes  us  keep 
up  to  the  mark  when  inaction  makes  it  easy  to 
despond. 

While  we  do  little  here,  great  things  are  going  on 
in  France.  The  push  in  the  Verdun  salient  and  for 
the  Ostend  line  of  towns  is  well  under  way;  I  can 
imagine  the  enthusiasm  this  progress  arouses  in  all 
the  allied  homes.  And  Bulgaria  suing  for  imcon- 
ditional  surrender!  Great!  If  things  go  as  well 
as  this,  perhaps  I  would  get  leave  at  the  end  of  my 
one  and  one-half  years'  service  from  last  January. 
Half  done  in  four  days,  as  we  count  from  date  of 
leaving  New  York. 

Tex,  Paul  Ives,  and  I  are  anxious  to  see  some 
more  active  service.  Really  all  the  pilots  here  are, 
but  of  course  all  could  not  get  away.  We  feel  that 
our  apprenticeship  on  this  work  has  been  served. 
However,  we  have  as  yet  hardly  gotten  beyond  plans 
and  hopes.  It  takes  so  long  to  convince  authorities 
and  arrange  things.  Of  course  practically  every  pilot 
would  like  to  be  on  a  fighting  type  machine  over  the 
lines,  but  only  a  proportion  have  the  opportunity. 

Day  before  yesterday  I  went  to  a  new  height  for 
me — 10,200  feet.     This  of  course  is  only  a  moderate 

[265  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

height  nowadays,  but  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  have 
been  there.     It  was  bitter  cold. 

I've  been  enjoying  a  pipe  occasionally  for  the  past 
month.  It  occupies  a  fairly  unimportant  place  in 
my  life  as  yet,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
I  have  forgotten  to  mention  it  before. 

Merci  bien  for  the  Maillards,  choc,  sweater,  socks 
and  sundries.  If  lucky,  I  will  certainly  use  all  the 
warm  goods  this  winter. 

Yesterday  I  picked  up  a  bit  of  a  cold,  and  am 
going  out  this  afternoon  for  a  good  run  with  a  hot 
and  cold  shower  afterwards. 

Will  send  this  to  Jax,  with  lots  of  love  to  all. 

Always  affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — I'm  anxious  to  hear  how  Bowse  makes  out 
either  for  college  or  war. 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

October  22,  1918. 

Dearest  Mother:  Again  I've  been  delinquent  for 
twenty  days.  I'm  sorry,  and  to  bridge  the  gap  I'll 
send  a  cable  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  so.  Then  it 
will  still  be  a  long  wait  for  this  letter,  so  I  will  write 
again  very  shortly  in  case  this  one  falls  by  the  way- 
side. 

Imagine  my  only  flying  five  hours  in  September! 
Most  discouraging,  when  for  months  I  have  averaged 
at  least  twenty  or  twenty-five,  which  is  not  much. 
One  month  at  Felixstowe  I  did  sixty.  That  is  the 
way  to  live  in  this  game — plenty  of  flying  to  feed 

[  266  ] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

on.  Here  it  is  picking  up  crumbs  of  test  flights  and 
occasional  instructing.  I  am  not  complaining  for  it 
could  not  be  very  different,  circumstances  control  the 
flying  weather,  etc. 

Saturday  I  went  out  for  five  hours  with  one 
Zabriskie  in  his  boat.  Dandy  fellow,  Zab  is.  Sun- 
day seven  hours  and  a  half  with  George  Rumill. 
That  is  the  best  yet  for  an  American  outfit.  With 
some  wind  helping  us  we  came  back  from  the  Tyne 
River  to  the  Humber  in  one  and  one-half  hours, 
which  is  "moting"  some,  as  it  is  about  120  miles. 

Yesterday  I  slept  late,  having  been  up  at  4.30  the 
two  previous  mornings.  Went  to  Hull  in  the  after- 
noon, enjoyed  a  hair-cut,  measured  for  a  suit,  and 
bought  a  pair  of  leather  sea-boots,  knee  high.  These 
are  great  for  sloshing  around  in  the  prevailing  fog 
and  mud,  also  warm  and  quick  to  get  into  at  early 
hours. 

Tex  and  Paul  Ives  expect  orders  very  soon,  calling 
them  away  to  work  on  land  machines,  at  least  tem- 
porarily. "Baron"  Compo  and  Johnny  McNamara 
have  gone  to  the  Emerald  Isle.  That  will  leave  Jay 
Schieffelin  and  me  as  the  remains  of  the  Felixstowers. 
Outside  of  actually  being  lost  at  sea,  this  represents 
the  maximum  hardships  of  war  for  me.  Of  course 
I  am  tremendously  glad  for  Paul  and  Tex  that  they 
are  going,  as  it  is  their  heart's  desire. 

Isn't  it  strange  that  modern  warfare,  such  as  is 
carried  on  here  at  least,  should  be  of  such  routine, 
long-distance  style,  that  your  greatest  enemy  is  ennui? 
That  is  why  we  are  all  so  keen  to  get  to  France 
and  fight. 

[  267  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Looking  at  my  "Line-a-day"  I  see  wind,  rain,  or 
both  recorded  for  all  but  four  days  in  October.  And 
when  these  are  absent  fog  prevails,  but  we  are  getting 
used  to  that  and  fly  anyhow. 

October  11  one  of  the  newer  fellows  here  had  a 
very  bad  crash,  due  to  inexperience  and  an  engine 
failure.  The  three  others  in  the  boat  were  killed. 
You  have  probably  seen  some  mention  of  Tyson's 
death.     Fine  fellow. 

I've  been  nursing  Tex  back  to  health  since  eight 
days  ago  when  he  barged  into  a  truck  while  motor- 
biking  at  night  without  lights.  Foolish  thing  to  do — 
and  he  was  lucky  not  to  be  worse  hurt.  His  right 
arm  was  as  close  to  being  broken  as  possible,  and  three 
doctors  had  a  hard  time  deciding  whether  or  not 
it  was  actually  broken.  He  is  much  better  now,  still 
sore  and  stiff,  but  getting  about  a  bit  and  will  be 
able  to  go  at  once  when  he  receives  orders.  I  thought 
of  buying  his  motor-cycle  but  have  definitely  decided 
not  to. 

Letters  from  you  and  Ruth  have  been  frequent  and 
interesting,  Ruth  seems  to  have  had  a  wonderful 
time  in  Camden,  and  writes  with  much  feeling  of  the 
way  all  hands  took  her  into  the  family.  I  certainly 
appreciate  it  all  tremendously.  I  suppose  the  only  way 
I  can  show  it  is  to  write  more  frequently.  And  that 
is  perhaps  the  hardest  sometimes. 

Letters  from  Jus  and  Daddy  also  post  me  as  to 
Phil's  progress.  I  hope  there  are  finally  no  hitches. 
I  feared  trouble  because  of  the  large  number  wishing 
to  get  into  the  U.  S.  N.  R.  F.  and  of  the  new  draft 
regulations.     Tell  Phil  I  wish  I  could  give  him  400 

[268  1 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 

minutes  at  one  simoleon  per,  or  at  nothing  per.  I 
instructed  in  landings  this  morning  for  two  and  one- 
half  hours.  I  often  think  of  Phil  and  wish  he  was 
alongside  at  the  other  wheel.  I  could  go  to  sleep  on 
a  long  patrol  and  count  on  being  O.K.  when 
awakened. 

Here's  a  warning  for  him — ^not  to  be  lured  by  any- 
side  issues.  Fellows  have  taken  a  meteorological 
course  after  Tech,  with  promises  of  quick  foreign 
service.  Result:  they  are  not  yet  trained  as  pilots 
and  won't  be.  Phil  will  not  get  over  for  a  year,  or 
I  miss  my  guess. 

My  regards  to  all  remaining  friends  in  Jackson- 
ville. A  letter  from  Don  Woodbridge  tells  of  a 
permanent  job  in  Paris  in  charge  of  Radio.  Good 
for  him,  but  I  venture  he  will  wish  to  be  flying  again 
soon. 

Love  to  Cece  and  Daddy,  and  oodles  for  yourself. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Ms  Brother 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

October  25,  1918. 

Dear  Jus:  T  see  it  is  a  month  since  my  last  to 
you — too  long.  But  there  has  been  nothing  doing  and 
we  have  been  bored  stiff.  Unable  to  go  on  leave, 
as  travel  is  prohibited  until  the  prevailing  flu  scourge 
is  checked. 

Yours  of  September  26  and  27  latest  to  arrive. 
There  is  a  mail  due  in  very  soon,  however.    Hope  you 

[269] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

saw  Harriman  eventually.  I  suppose,  like  others,  he 
is  worrying  now  for  fear  the  war  will  be  over  before 
he  gets  back.  Well,  I  won't  mind  its  stopping  when 
it  stops  Right,  and  that  couldn't  be  before  a  long 
while. 

Expect  to  lose  Tex  Hawkins  and  Paul  Ives  soon, 
leaving  only  Jay  Schieffelin  of  the  old  crowd  here 
with  me.  Tex  and  Paul  are  expecting  to  go  with 
the  British  on  land  machines.  I  applied  to  go  but 
got  turned  down.  May  get  a  chance  later — ^we 
couldn't  all  go  now. 

Was  out  from  7  to  2.40  in  a  Naval  Aircraft  Fac- 
tory boat  a  few  days  ago — ^best  yet.  This  is  O.K.  for 
work  near  land,  convoys,  etc.,  but  not  to  be  trusted 
too  far  at  sea  as  yet.  Good  old  Rolls  for  mine  when 
it  comes  to  deep-sea  work. 

Hope  your  other  half  stripe  has  come  through, 
you  certainly  rate  it.  Lots  of  fellows  over  here,  who 
rated  their  1st,  and  a  half,  six  months  ago,  and  were 
recommended,  haven't  gotten  it;  in  many  cases  they 
are  holding  responsible  positions.  Compo,  of  whom 
I  have  written,  was  sent  to  Ireland  to  act  as  Squad- 
ron-Commander. He  was  recommended  when  I  was, 
in  June,  but  that  is  as  far  as  it  goes  very  often.  One 
gets  fed  up  for  a  while  and  then  gets  over  it.  Per- 
haps I'll  have  to  cable  for  a  waiver  on  my  eyes 
before  receiving  a  promotion. 

Haven't  written  whatsoever  for  a  couple  of  weeks 
and  expect  to  cable  tomorrow  to  bridge  the  gap.  It 
seems  criminal  not  to  write  regularly,  yet  sometimes 
it  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the  world. 

If  Phil  has  hitches  and  trouble  about  getting  into 

[270] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Eoctracts 

the  N.  R.  F.  C,  he  might  do  better  in  the  Army. 
This  is  good  clean  service  all  right,  but  mighty  slow 
and  too  long  distance  for  a  steady  diet.  One  gets 
wild  sitting  around  here,  only  a  few  hundred  miles 
from  real  land  and  air  fighting. 

I  was  surprised  to  hear  of  Conyers  Button  getting 
married.  Made  me  feel  like  an  old  man.  Too  bad 
about  Dick  Day — and  Jack  Graham  I  hear,  too.  Did 
you  know  Tommy  Evans  at  the  U.  of  P.?  He 
crashed  in  a  fog  at  an  English  school  and  was  killed. 

I  dug  up  an  old  acquaintance  of  yours  here,  much 
to  our  mutual  surprise.  Harold  Wilcox,  1913,  Law. 
We  have  had  some  great  chins  about  fellows  at  col- 
lege, mostly  your  class.  He  is  second  pilot  with  Paul 
Ives,  but  a  well-qualified  first  pilot  himself. 

Hope  Dan  has  picked  up  and  is  in  good  shape, 
and  that  Frances  and  the  other  standbys  are  well  as 
usual.     Dodge  the  flu! 

Always  affectionately, 

Ben. 

To  Mr.  J.  C.  Chase 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 

KiLLINOHOLME, 

Foreign   Service, 
October  26,   1918. 

Dear  Daddy:  Yours  of  September  19  and  23  at 
hand  and,  as  always,  much  appreciated,  deserving  of 
prompter  response.  Well,  I've  just  heard  a  piece  of 
good  news,  which  if  it  is  true  will  make  it  much 
pleasanter  for  us.  We  are  to  be  allowed  to  censor 
our  own  letters  as  officers  always  do  at  other  stations. 

[  271  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

The  situation  had  become  acute,  due  to  the  fact  that 
censoring  was  in  the  hands  of  an  extremely  unpopular 
and,  I  think,  misguided  young  person. 

I  sent  a  cable  to-day  to  Chase  &  Company,  "Writ- 
ing well  love  Lee."  This  is  to  help  bridge  the  con- 
siderable gap  in  my  letters  to  mother. 

Have  just  come  in  from  watching  rather  a  good 
football  game.  Our  gobs  played  an  Army  team 
from  not  far  away  and  trimmed  them  7  to  0.  The 
Killingholme  band  has  just  arrived  and  lent  a  festive 
noise  to  the  occasion,  while  a  couple  of  boats  being 
tested  swooped  by  occasionally,  just  to  remind  us 
it  wasn't  Franklin  Field. 

You  have  no  doubt  read  of  the  recall  of  Hun  sub- 
marines. That  seems  to  leave  us  out  of  a  job  for 
the  time,  but  of  course  there  is  always  the  chance, 
and  hope  the  enemy  will  try  something  in  the  way 
of  fleet  action. 

(Operations    suspended   for   supper.) 

9.30  p.  M. — We  have  just  returned  from  the  movie 
hall,  at  which  our  new  band  was  inaugurated  tonight. 
It  is  really  corking  and  acts  as  a  first-class  orchestra. 
With  the  leader  there  are  thirty-three  all  told,  trained 
by  John  Philip  Sousa  at  the  Great  Lakes  Naval 
Training  Station. 

In  addition  to  the  new  band  we  were  favored. with 
four  New  York  girls — a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  troupe.  They 
were  very  attractive  and  got  away  with  several  songs 
and  little  stunts  very  nicely.  It  was  their  first  show 
on  this  side,  so  they  were  pleasantly  agog  at  the 
ovation  received.  They  don't  realize  that  it  will  be 
the  same  everywhere. 

[272] 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Book  Extracts 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  does  splendid  work  here.  There 
are  four  Y.  M.  C.  A.  men  on  duty  here  permanently, 
and  they  share  our  mess,  of  course.  One  seems  to 
be  an  ex-college  professor.  His  specialty  is  organiz- 
ing classes  of  various  kinds,  at  present  having  one  in 
French  and  one  in  English  history,  with  about  fifty 
gobs  in  each.  He  also  helps  run  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
hut,  which  includes  writing-room  and  circulating 
library.  The  second  is  chiefly  in  charge  of  the  hut 
and  of  news  bulletins  which  come  in  from  time  to  time. 

Mr.  Mills  is  the  athletic  director,  a  good  boxer 
himself;  helps  coach  the  football  team  and  runs 
athletic  events  in  general. 

Mr.  Peters  is  the  entertainment  specialist  and  con- 
trols the  daily  movie  show,  shipments  of  films,  etc., 
travelling  entertainment  troupes,  and  any  particular 
hickboo  that  may  be  gotten  up. 

You  see  there  is  plenty  for  each  to  do  and  they  do 
a  lot  more  that  I  don't  know  about,  particularly  for 
the  men.  For  instance,  they  got  the  coon  stewards 
organized  into  a  "jazz  band." 

We  have  four  doctors  and  a  dentist  here — the 
Navy  has  a  "rep"  for  caring  for  its  personnel,  you 
know.  I  don't  know  just  how  the  Red  Cross  comes 
into  it,  except  for  an  ambulance,  which  I  am  glad 
to  say  has  only  been  in  use  one  day. 

No  Hun  scalps  available  from  here  at  present.  I 
could  send  you  a  piece  of  aluminum  from  a  Zepp 
brought  down  at  sea,  but  as  I  regret  to  say  we  had 
no  part  in  the  job  it  is  not  quite  so  interesting. 

Ledger  is  coming  regular  now.  Every  Sunday  tells 
of   some   friend   going   West.      Dick   Day   the   last. 

[  27&  ] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

Well,  the  boys  at  the  front  are  getting  what  they  are 
paying  for  anyhow — it's  wonderful  work. 

Best   regards   to  Jax   friends   and   love   to   all   at 
Farview. 

Affectionately, 

Ben. 

P.S. — No  leaves  granted  for  some  time  now,  due 
to  the  epidemic  in  England. 


[274] 


U.    8.   BAViX  POfiCBS  OPEfiATIHG  IN  EUROPEAN  WATERS 
U.    S.    HAVAL  AIR  STATION, KILLINGHOLME. 

Se     October  1918* 


BGL/8 


Troffl:  Commanding  Officer. 

To   :   Lieut  ( Jg)  P.P.  Ives.  USNHP. 

dobjeot:  ^  Orders  for  detached  dnty. 

1.  You  will  proceed  as  division  connnander  of  a 
dlTlslon  of  three  P-EA's  to  Dundee,  Scotland,  and  re- 
port to  Officer  Commanding  R.A.P.  Station,  Dundee,  for 
8uoh  duty  as  may  be  assigned  you. 


Z'     Machines  and  crews  are  listed  as  follows: 


8686 


itrjgL^Pj    Lyfia,USNRP.r Pilot) 
.gn  T*lili   Degf fif?  DSBHP.(8nd  Pi! 


lleul 

Ensign  Tt'iili^  Ifegf  l^iTf  DSBHP.(8nd  Pilot) 
W.  Pardridge.  Elc(ro).  Radio  operator 
J.  Cullen,  MMle,  Engineer. 


4082  Ensign  A.W.  Hawlcins.  USNRP. (Pilot) 

lieut( Jg)  R.H.MoCann,USNRP.(2nd  Pilot) 
Klaus,  E.J. ,  Elc(ro) , Radio  operator 
Cote,  R.  .  Engineer. 

4067  Ensign  B.  Lee,  USNRF.( Pilot) 

Ensign  J.  GarriBon.USNRP.{£nd  Pilot) 

R.G.  Pisber.  MMF.o  Engineer 

p.  Harris,  Elo(ro) .Radio  operator. 

3.  Immsdlately  upon  your  arrival  you  will  report 
your  arrival  to  this  station  by  wire*  So  soon  as  you 
receive  your  instructions  from  Officer  Commanding  h.A. 
P.  Station,  Dundee  you  will  forward  to  this  station  a 
ooniplete  written  report  of  the  duties  assigned  and ^ there- 
after  such  reports  as  you  may  deem  necessary. 

4*  Upon  completion  of  this  duty  y^u  will  return 
to  this  station. 


Foreign  Letters  and  Note-Booh  Extracts 


On  October  28,  1918,  just  one  week  before  Ensign 
Lee's  twenty-fourth  birthday,  he  was  killed  when  start- 
ing on  a  flight  from  Killingholme  on  the  Humber  to 
Dundee,  Scotland. 


[275] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 


nnHESE  letters  of  sympathy  and  appreciation  were 
-*■    chosen  from  those  written  by  Ensign  Lee's  superior 
officers,  comrades  and  friends  who  were  especially  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  Great  War. 


\ 


V 

Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

U.  S.  Naval  Forces  Operating  in  European  Waters 

U.  S.  Naval  Air  Station, 
Killinqholme, 
November  4,  1918. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  It  is  with  the  deepest  sym- 
pathy and  regret  that  I  have  to  confirm  the  death  of 
your  son,  Benjamin  Lee,  in  a  seaplane  accident  which 
occurred  at  this  station  on  October  28. 

I  feel  that  you  are  anxious  to  know  something  of 
the  circumstances  attending  his  death,  and  something 
of  his  splendid  work  at  this  station. 

On  the  morning  of  October  28  we  were  called  upon 
to  carry  on  work  in  connection  with  particularly  im- 
portant operations  in  the  North  Sea.  This  work 
called  for  our  best  pilots  and  our  best  machines. 
Three  machines  were  ordered  out,  among  them  your 
son's  machine.  His  machine  was  the  first  one  to 
leave,  the  promptness  with  which  he  made  his  prepa- 
rations being  the  occasion  of  especially  favorable  com- 
ment at  the  time.  He  took  the  air  and  circled  about, 
waiting  for  the  other  two  machines.  As  these  ma- 
chines took  off  he  spiralled  down  and  turned  to  take 
his  place  in  formation.  In  the  middle  of  the  turn, 
foi^  some  unknown  reason,  the  machine  suddenly  went 
into  a  side  slip  and  spin.  He  pulled  out  of  the  spin, 
straightened  out  into  a  dive,  and  it  appeared  for  an 

[281] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

instant  that  he  had  a  small  chance  of  recovering,  but 
there  was  insufficient  height  and  the  machine  dived 
into  the  Humber  River. 

Two  tugs  and  two  other  machines  were  at  the 
spot  immediately.  The  second  pilot,  Ensign  Gar- 
rison, and  the  radio  operaitor  appeared  on  the  surface 
and  were  rescued.  Ensign  G.  S.  Hodges  and  Lieu- 
tenant McCann,  who  were  in  the  other  two  machines, 
dove  overboard  time  and  again  in  and  about  the 
flaming  wreckage  in  utter  disregard  of  their  own  lives, 
in  an  endeavor  to  rescue  your  son.  They  continued 
their  efforts  until  all  possible  hope  had  disappeared. 
Everything  that  was  humanly  possible  was  done  to 
rescue  your  son,  but  without  success.  He  never  ap- 
peared on  the  surface,  and  he  must  have  been  instantly 
killed.  Although  a  thorough  search  has  been  made 
for  his  body  it  has  not  yet  been  recovered. 

The  loss  of  your  son  has  been  felt  keenly  as  a 
distinct  loss  to  the  station.  He  was  keen,  intelligent, 
skilful,  daring,  painstaking,  thorough,  and  in  all  his 
actions  showed  himself  to  be  the  highest  type  of 
officer  and  gentleman.  I  have  had  every  confidence 
that  he  would  carry  out  intelligently,  thoroughly  and 
well  any  duty  that  had  been  assigned  to  him,  and  I 
deem  it  a  privilege  to  be  able  to  say  sincerely  that  I 
have  felt  the  greatest  admiration  and  respect  for  his 
ability  as  an  officer  and  pilot,  and  for  his  splendid 
qualities  as  a  man.  He  was  loved  and  respected  by 
all  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  and  his  death  is 
felt  keenly  as  a  personal  loss  to  every  one  of  us,  and 
as  a  distinct  loss  to  the  station  for  which  he  has  done 

[282] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

so  much,  and  to  his  service  and  his  country  which  he 
has  served  so  faithfully  and  so  well. 

Ensign  A.  W.  Hawkins,  his  roommate  and  most 
intimate  friend,  has  taken  charge  of  his  effects,  which 
will  be  held  awaiting  your  commands. 

If  I  can  be  of  service  at  any  time,  please  conmiand 
me. 

Sincerely, 

Bruce  G.  Leighton, 

{Lieutenant  U,  S.  Navy,  Commanding.^ 

The  following  is  part  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles 
Day,  a  friend  of  the  family,  who  kindly  communicated 
with  Admiral  Sims  when  the  news  of  Ben's  accident 
was  received: 

U.  S.  Naval  Forces  Operating  in  European  Waters 
U.  S.  S.  Melville,  Flagship 

SO    Grosvenor    Gardens, 

London,  S.  W.   1. 

28    December,    1918. 

My  dear  Mr.  Day:  Although  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  several  of  Ensign  Lee's  associates  have 
recently  called  on  his  mother,  Mrs.  Joshua  C.  Chase, 
with  a  view  to  giving  her  all  the  details  of  the  sad 
accident  which  resulted  in  his  death,  I  am,  in  reply 
to  your  letter,  giving  you  the  following: 

The  part  of  the  letter  referring  to  the  accident  is  omitted,  being 
very  similar  to  the  account  given  by  the  Commanding  Officer  in 
preceding  letter. 

Ensign  Lee  had  established  a  very  high  reputation 
for  his  courage  and  skill  together  with  a  daring  which 
was  a  magnificent  example  to  all  those  officers  with 

[283] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  death  was  a  very 
severe  blow  to  Naval  Aviation  and  to  the  Service  in 
general. 

Accept  my  appreciation  of  your  kind  letter,  and 
trusting  that  the  foregoing  may  be  some  consolation 
to  the  family  of  the  late  Ensign  Lee, 

Believe  me. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Wm.  S.  Sims. 

(^Admiral,  U.  S.  Navy.) 

U.  S.  Naval  Forces  Operating  in  European  Waters 

9th  November,  1918. 

To  Lieut.  William  J.  Lee,  U.  S,  N.  R.  F-6, 
Curtiss  Engineering  Corporation, 
Garden  City, 

Long  Island. 

My  dear  Lee:  I  have  just  returned  to  London 
after  an  absence  of  a  month  in  France,  during  which 
time  I  have  had  no  news  from  this  side.  The  first 
news  with  which  I  was  met  was  the  very  distressing 
information  that  your  young  brother  was  recently 
killed  in  the  seaplane  accident  at  his  station. 

I  have  heard  none  of  the  details  of  this  mishap 
beyond  the  fact  that  it  occurred  during  ordinary  fly- 
ing while  he  was  operating  a  British-built  boat  of  the 
F-2  type,  approximately  the  same  as  the  H-16.  I 
mention  this  fact  especially  as  I  know  there  will  be 
some  comfort  in  it  for  you.  Due  to  the  peculiar 
circumstances  that  practically  all  of  the  boats  at 
Killingholme  were  built  under  your  supervision,  you 
have  probably  more  than  once  imagined  that   some 

[  284  ] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

imperfectton  in  one  of  these  boats  may  have  been 
responsible  for  the  accident,  and  I  feel  sure  that  it 
will  be  comforting  to  you  to  know  that  this  is  not 
the  case. 

I  enjoyed  very  much  seeing  your  brother  at  Killing- 
holme  on  my  last  visit  there,  and  am  very  much 
shocked  at  the  unfortunate  outcome  of  his  Naval 
career.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  particu- 
larly skilful  flyer,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  definite 
details  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  his  fatal 
mishap. 

Please  permit  me  to  express  to  you  and  to  Mrs. 
Lee  my  very  deep  sympathy. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Conrad  Westervelt. 

{Commander,  U.  S.  Navy.) 


30  "Grosvenor  Gardens,  London, 
November  3,  1918. 

Dear  Mrs.  Chase:  The  loss  of  Ben  is  the  saddest 
bit  in  the  war  for  me,  and  I  wish  that  I  could  express 
to  you  how  badly — not  only  his  good  friends — but 
every  one  in  the  service  has  felt  about  it. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  service  there  were 
very  few  as  valuable  as  Ben — as  a  pilot  his  name 
was  known  by  every  one.  I  see  all  the  young  pilots 
just  arrived  frorri  home,  and  often  they  ask  me,  "Who 
is  this  pilot  Ben  Lee  we  have  heard  so  much  about?" 
Fame  Uke  that  may  mean  very  little  to  you,  Mrs. 
Chase,  who  know  his  marvelous  qualities  of  mind, 
but  it  shows  that  he  had  courage  and  boldness  to  a 

[285] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

degree  that  I  have  never  seen,  and  that  counts  for  a 
great  deal  in  this  world. 

What  I  can  hardly  bear  to  lose  is  Ben's  mind  and, 
above  all,  his  wonderful  sweetness.  He  had  perfect 
courage,  the  most  original  mind  and,  what  counts 
more,  the  greatest  kindliness  and  love  for  his  friends 
that  I  have  ever  known.  We  were  very  close  to- 
gether at  Hampton  Roads,  and  I  prized  his  friendship. 
I  have  never  known  him  unsympathetic,  and  he  has 
helped  me  over  and  over  again  by  his  kindness,  gen- 
erosity and  judgment.  After  we  came  over  here  we 
did  not  see  each  other  so  much,  though  we  were  both 
in  England,  but  we  always  wrote  to  each  other  and 
saw  each  other  whenever  possible.  I  shall  send  you 
some  of  his  letters  if  I  can  lay  my  hands  on  them. 

I  do  not  think  that  Ben  was  satisfied  at  Killing- 
holme.  He  was  much  too  clever  and  far  too  good  a 
pilot.  .  .  .  After  all,  Ben  was  one  of  the  most 
experienced  pilots  in  the  service,  had  done  his  turn  at 
Felixstowe  and  knew  the  game,  and  it  irritated  him, 
as  it. did  others,  to  be  told  to  do  things  which  he 
knew  were  wrong.  The  diflPerence  between  Ben  and 
the  others  was  that  he  did  ^not  hesitate  to  say  that 
things  were  wrong,  in  that  delicious  quiet  way  of  his, 
and  of  course  the  inevitable  result  was  that  he  was 
reminded  that  he  was  an  Ensign,  and  that  it  was 
against  discipline  to  say  anything.  It  was  heart- 
breaking in  a  way,  and  I  was  happy  to  hear  a  few 
weeks  ago  that  he  was  feehng  better  and  that  things 
were  going  more  smoothly.  I  suppose  he  wrote  you 
all  this.  ...  ^ 

Ben  and  I  had  many  plans.       We  were  going  to 

[  286  ] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

write  some  stories  and  articles  together,  and  we  were 
going  to  spend  our  next  leave  in  Scotland.  I  wish 
that  I  could  tell  you  all  our  long  talks  our  trip  over, 
when  we  shared  a  stateroom,  and  our  almost  penniless 
travels  between  London  and  Paris. 

Those  memories  are  the  happiest  that  I  have  in 
England,  and  there  are  many  more — of  a  short  leave 
of  his  in  London,  of  Felixstowe,  and  a  long  consulta- 
tion in  his  rooms  there.  Tex  Hawkins  and  he  were 
a  wonderful  pair,  and  there  was  something  very 
touching  in  their  relations — Tex  very  young,  and 
over-anxious,  and  Ben  keeping  him  steady  with  a  few 
words  here  and  there,  but  most  by  his  quiet  manner 
and  his  steadiness.  All  of  his  friends  there  appre- 
ciated an  aloofness  and  purity  about  Ben.  He  was 
a  man's  man,  if  there  ever  was  one,  and  the  straightest, 
without  a  trace  of  priggishness,  that  I  have  ever  known. 
I  wish  that  I  could  express  to  you  just  what  he  meant 
to  us — ^to  me  especially.  He  had  the  rarest  combina- 
tion of  qualities,  brains,  sweetness,  purity,  and  yet 
there  was  something  of  which  he  was  perfectly  un- 
conscious, a  directness,  sincerity  and  strength  which 
left  a  lump  in  my  throat  often  when  I  watched  him. 

I  am  afraid  this  is  all  very  incoherent.  I  am  trying 
so  hard  to  show  you  that  we  appreciated  his  quality, 
and  that  we  loved  him  dearly. 

I  feel  terribly  sorry  for  you,  Mrs.  Chase,  as  I 
know  what  you  are  losing,  but  remember  that  Ben 
gave  himself,  not  only  his  life,  but  his  wonderful 
personality,  to  some  of  us  in  a  way  which  we  can 
never  forget. 

[287] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

The   greatest   immortality   is   the   memory   of   our 
friends  and  the  influence  which  we  leave  behind  us. 
Ben  can  never  be  forgotten. 
My  deepest  sympathy. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Charles  F.  Fuller, 

Madison,  Wisconsin, 
November  15,  1918. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  My  heart  goes  out  to  you. 
I  beg  you  to  let  me  tell  you  how  deeply,  deeply  I 
am  grieving  with  you;  how  sincerely  I  loved  your 
splendid  boy. 

Before  they  sailed  you  know  how  we  were  seeing 
him,  and  of  the  long  confidences  he  and  Charley  were 
exchanging;  and  every  time  that  Charley  has  seen 
him,  in  their  work  in  England,  he  has  written  me  of  it : 
of  "that  corker  Ben" — of  the  "magnificent  work"  he 
was  doing — of  Ben  as  "the  first  of  them  all."  You 
know  how  they  both  stayed  with  my  brother  and  his 
wife  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  Fairchild)  those  few  short 
days  in  Paris,  at  the  beginning;  and  then  Edith  too 
wrote  me  "Charley  couldn't  have  a  more  splendid 
friend  than  dear  Ben  Lee." 

My  heart  aches.  It  seems  so  hard  that  he,  so 
straight  and  kind  and  beautiful  of  heart,  should  have 
been  taken. 

That  he  gave  his  life,  willingly,  for  a  supreme 
cause,  may  help  you  in  your  grief, — but  I  do  not 
know  that  anything  can  make  up  for  the  shattering, 
dreadful  loss.  Even  to  a  person  who  knew  him 
slightly   as   I   did, — ^though   for  the   high  tension   of 

[288] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

the  time  I  felt  as  if  I  had  come'  to  know  him  intimately 
well, — it  seems  that  an  irreparable  loss  has  come. 
I  send  you  my  deepest  sympathy. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Lucia  Fairchild  Fuller. 

U.  S.  N.  Air  Station, 

KiLLINGHOLME, 

November  4,  1918. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  May  I  not  take  the  liberty 
of  writing  to  tell  you  how  very,  very  sorry  I  was  at 
the  unfortunate  death  of  your  dear  son.  Benny  was 
deeply  loved  for  his  modest,  unassuming  ways,  his 
consideration  and  thoughtfulness  for  others,  his  uni- 
versal kindliness  and  helpfulness,  his  clear-headed 
sagacity,  his  upright,  irreproachable  cleanness  and 
nobility  of  character,  his  wonderful  self-forgetfulness 
and  integrity,  as  much  as  he  was  admired  for  his  skill, 
fortitude,  endurance,  hard  work.  He  truly  lived  up 
to  the  ideal  of  a  "soldier  and  a  gentleman,"  and 
was  absolutely  the  acme  of  a  chivalrous  gentleman, 
a  veritable  "chevalier  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche/' 
And  in  proportion  as  we  loved  him  and  mourned  him, 
we  can  and  do  sympathize  most  fully  with  you  in 
your  tremendous  loss.  If  ever  a  man  died  in  the 
service  of  his  country  and  for  an  ideal,  Ben  did,  as 
gallant  a  gentleman  as  ever  lived.  We  wish  we 
could  say  something  to  try  to  assuage  your  grief. 
But  the  best  possible  thing  we  can  say,  and  the  noblest 
monument  that  could  be  erected  to  him,  is  the  memory 
of  his  noble  qualities.  Loved,  admired  and  respected 
by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him  on  earth,  he 

[289] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

must  be  carrying  on  in  his  fuller  life  the  work  he  so 
nobly  began  here  among  us. 

Please  accept  our  sincerest  sympathy  in  your  loss, 
and  may  God  lighten  it  as  only  He  can. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

A1.EXANDER  C.  Zabriskie. 

November  5,   1918. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  am  Ben's  roommate.  I 
wish  I  could  do  something  to  help  you  and  not  just 
write  to  you.  I  hope  you  will  be  brave  and  strong 
because  Ben  lived  and  died  so  well.  I  don't  under- 
stand a  mother's  love  for  her  boy,  but  I  reverence  it. 
I  know  somehow  that  it's  useless  to  try  to  comfort 
or  sympathize  with  you — only  God  or  people  you 
love  can  do  that. 

I  have  known  Ben  more  than  six  months  now — 
ever  since  he  came  to  Felixstowe.  I  liked  him  at 
the  very  first  because  he  was  very  quiet,  either  listen- 
ing or  studying  about  something.  He  lived  with 
three  of  us  there  who  went  to  college  together  and 
had  been  flying  together  about  a  year,  and  very  soon 
Ben  was  our  friend  just  as  if  he  had  always  been 
with  us.  Then  we  lost  one  of  the  fellows  and  Ben 
sort  of  took  his  place  with  Jay  and  me. 

He  loved  to  fly,  and  was  always  keen  and  enthusi- 
astic about  our  work.  I  think  he  had  the  best  head 
of  any  pilot  here,  and  I  have  never  known  a  more 
steady,  skilful  and  daring  pilot  on  these  machines, 
and  I  have  seen  the  very  best  English  pilots.  I 
taught  Ben  to  fly  these  in  one  flight  at  Felixstowe. 
I  have  never  seen  anybody  learn  a  machine  so  quickly 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

and  so  well.  He  was  a  first  pilot  on  them  in  three 
weeks,  and  three  months  was  considered  very  good 
time  for  Englishmen  there. 

He  was  generally  conceded  to  be  the  most  thorough 
and  skilful  pilot  here,  and  there  are  a  whole  lot  of  us. 

Some  of  the  sailors  who  work  and  fly  with  us  asked 
for  your  address.  I  don't  know  that  you  will  hear 
from  them,  but  I  am  sure  there  are  very  few  of  us 
they  would  feel  that  way  about.  Ben  was  very  popu- 
lar with  them  because  he  was  so  fearless  and  expert, 
and  because  he  was  always  just  with  them. 

I  was  ordered  away  from  here  October  29,  the 
day  after  it  happened,  for  nearly  a  week,  and  have 
waited  to  write  you  until  I  had  packed  up  Ben's 
things.  I  have  turned  them  over  to  the  supply  officer 
and  you  must  write  to  the  Commanding  Ofiicer, 
U.  S.  N.  Air  Station,  Killingholme,  care  of  Post- 
master, New  York,  and  request  that  they  be  for- 
warded on  to  you. 

Ben  left  five  letters  to  be  opened  in  case  of  his 
death — one  to  Jay  and  me,  one  to  you,  one  to  Miss 
Philips,  one  to  Charley  Fuller,  and  one  to  a  Captain 
Wagner.  I  will  send  the  three  of  them  over  by 
a  mutual  friend  of  ours,  Paul  Ives,  who  is  going 
home  in  a  few  days  to  instruct.  I  will  send  you  two 
little  snapshots  of  Ben,  which  are  all  I  have,  and  also 
some  others  of  the  machines,  etc.,  which  will  interest 
you. 

Ben  was  a  friend  of  everybody  here.  I  don't  think 
there  is  another  fellow  who  was  so  generally  liked. 
His  nature  was  so  fine  and  sensitive — he  seemed  al- 
most like  a  girl  to  me  sometimes,  and  yet  he  had  all 

[  291  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

the  iron  in  him  that  any  man  ever  had.  It  was  rotten 
luck  to  have  Ben  go  in  a  crash.  Crashes  don't  happen 
very*  often  in  service,  and  when  a  pal  is  killed  that 
way  it  seems  much  worse  than  any  other,  for  you 
know  it's  just  tough  luck.  It  shook  me  all  right, 
having  Ben  go  that  way;  I  could  not  understand  it; 
and  being  right  there  and  not  able  to  do  a  thing  to 
help  him.  Flying  next  day  I  was  almost  afraid  of 
my  machine. 

I  have  written  Miss  Philips  and  I  asked  her  to 
show  you  the  letter. 

The  Captain  wants  to  send  both  Ives  and  me 
home,  but  I  don't  want  to  go  until  it's  over.  I  feel 
somehow  as  if  it's  deserting  my  friends  who  have 
"gone  West"  and  left  their  work  unfinished. 

November  8,  1918. 

I  have  been  keeping  this  letter  for  Ives  to  take 
with  him,  but  now  it  looks  very  much  like  an  armis- 
tice and  the  Skipper  wants  Jay  and  Ives  and  me  to 
go  home  to  instruct  in  a  week  or  ten  days.  So  I  will 
mail  this,  and  maybe  bring  Ben's  letters  to  you  and 
Miss  Philips  myself.  If  I  don't  go  Ives  will  bring 
them.  I  know  it  will  be  a  costly  victory  to  you,  but 
I  hope  too  it  will  seem  a  glorious  one. 

Ben  gave  his  strength  and  his  life  to  his  country 
just  as  truly  as  any  man  ever  did.  Your  message 
about  Ben's  birthday  presents  came  to-day.  It  was 
very  thoughtful  and  brave  of  you  to  answer  his  death 
that  way. 

I  am  always  Ben's  friend  and  yours. 

AsHTON  Hawkins. 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

P.S. — I  will  advise  Ben's  bank  in  Hull  and  have 
them  forward  you  his  balance.  I  kept  some  sugar 
and  chocolate  out  of  Ben's  things. 

A.  W.  H. 

Whitehall  Place,  Dundee, 
.     Mathers  Hotel,  Limited, 
November  7,  1918. 

Dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  am  writing  to  send  you  my 
most  broken-hearted  sympathy  for  the  loss  of  Ben. 
He  was  next  to  Tex  Hawkins  my  best  friend,  and 
I  have  never  loved  or  admired  any  man  more.  You 
will  be  glad  to  hear  that  two  days  before  the  accident 
he  was  listed  as  a  flight-commander. 

I  don't  think  we  will  ever  know  what  caused  the 
spin.  Something  inust  have  broken — that's  the  only 
way  to  account  for  it — because  Ben  was  as  infallible 
a  pilot  as  there  is  in  the  service  and  was  doing  or- 
dinary straight  flying, — not  stunting  at  all.  I  sup- 
pose it  is  my  duty  to  tell  you  all  about  it.  That 
morning  seems  like  a  dreadful  dream. 

Benny  "took  off"  about  half  an  hour  before  Paul 
Ives  and  Tex  and  flew  around  above  the  station  wait- 
ing for  them  (the  three  machines  were  outward  bound 
and  were  to  go  in  formation) .  Then  Tex's  and  Paul's 
machines  were  launched  and  we  watched  them  take 
off  together.  Just  as  they  left  the  water  Ben's  ma- 
chine spun  and  nose-dived  into  the  water  beside  them. 
Both  the  other  machines  landed  again  instantly  and 
went  straight  to  the  spot  where  the  crash  had  been. 
Nothing  was  on  the  surface  except  a  little  wreckage. 

[  293  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

Paul  got  there  just  about  thirty  seconds  after  the 
crash  and  his*  second  pilot,  George  Hodges,  dove  over- 
board and  pulled  Garrison  free — he  had  come  up 
with  a  bit  of  wreckage.  Tex  arrived  about  thirty 
seconds  later,  and  his  second  pilot,  Dick  McCann, 
dove  in  and  helped.  In  the  meantime  the  whole 
surface  of  the  water  burst  into  flame  from  the  petrol 
coming  to  the  surface,  and  the  men  swimming  barely 
escaped.  The  wireless  man  from  Benny's  boat  came 
up  without  a  scratch  and  was  saved,  but  Benny  never 
came  to  the  surface.  He  was  held  in  the  boat  by  the 
steering  yoke,  which  nearly  always  jams  in  a  crash, 
and  this  accounts  for  it.  I  got  there  in  the  station 
launch  about  three  minutes  later  and  the  whole  place 
was  an  inferno  of  flame. 

We  got  Garry  and  Hodges  (who  was  burned  some- 
what) out  of  the  water  and  rushed  them  back  to  the 
ambulance.  Dick  McCann  stayed  and  dived  repeat- 
edly, from  a  little  motor  dory,  into  the  fire,  and  tried 
to  find  Ben,  but  that  part  of  the  hull  had  sunk  and 
was  carried  away  with  the  tide.  We  went  back  in 
the  launch  and  along  with  two  trawlers  tried,  to  get 
hold  of  the  wreck,  but  everything  was  carried  away 
except  one  wing  and  the  engine  section. 

Ben  was  unquestionably  knocked  out  instantly 
when  the  crash  occurred,  and  he  never  came  to  the 
surface.  He  was  not  burnt.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  it  was  mercifully  sudden. 

He  was  in  the  best  and  gayest  of  spirits  when  he 
set  out.  Just  before  his  machine  was  launched  I 
climbed  up   on  the  fin   and  wished   him  good   luck. 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

He  smiled  back  and  shouted  above  the  sound  of  the 
motors,  "So  long,  Schief,  good  luck."  Then  they 
shoved  her  on  down  the  slipway  and  he  made  a 
perfect  take-off  as  usual. 

Ever  since  getting  to  know  him  at  Felixstowe  I 
have  thought  everything  of  Ben,  and  it  does  not 
seem  possible.  A  kinder,  more  generous,  more  attrac- 
tive and  lovable  fellow  never  lived.  He  was  always 
"full  out,"  and  has  done  most  vital  service.  He  was 
so  clear-headed  and  cool  in  the  air  that  it  was  almost 
imcanny  in  certain  emergencies.  Perfectly  unruffled, 
he  always  did  the  right  thing  quickly  as  he  did  in 
the  spin.  We  could  see  that  the  controls  were 
pulled  back  when  the  machine  dove,  which  was 
the  correct  thing  to  do  in  that  situation,  and  it 
proves  that  something  must  have  gone  wrong  with 
the    machine. 

Please  be  comforted,  Mrs.  Chase,  by  the  knowledge 
that  Ben  has  contributed  splendidly  to  the  present 
victory,  that  he  died  in  the  performance  of  his  duty 
and  died  happy,  and  with  a  spotless  record.  He  will 
always  have  a  foremost  place  in  the  hearts  of  all  of 
us  who  worked  with  him.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
world  so  inspiring  as  the  life  of  a  man  like  Ben,  an 
American  gentleman  who  always  did  his  duty  with 
complete  efficiency  and  enthusiasm,  who  had  the  high, 
pure  American  ideals  and  consistently  lived  up  to 
them. 

Mrs.  Chase,  I  send  you  my  very  greatest  sympathy, 
and  I  hope  you  will  let  me  know  if  there  is  anything 
I  can  do  to  make  things  easier  for  you.     I'd  do  any- 

[295] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

thing  in  the  world  for  Ben.     You  have  made   the 
sublime  gift  to  the  glorious  cause. 

Most  sympathetically  yours, 

John  Jay  Schieffelin. 

U.  S.  N.  A.  S. 

KiLLINGHOLME. 

care  of  Postmaster,  N.  Y. 

Whitehall  Place,  Dundee, 

Mathers  Hotel,  Limited, 

November  12,  1918. 

Dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  would  just  like  to  have  you 
know  what  I  thought  of  Ben.  Although  I  have  only 
known  him  since  his  arrival  at  Killingholme  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  think  he  was  the  finest, 
cleanest  and  truest,  through  and  through,  of  that 
exceptionally  fine  crew,  and  I  only  wish  I  could  tell 
him  so. 

About  five  months  ago  I  was  sent  over,  supposed 
to  have  been  trained  flying  large  boats.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  I  had  flown  a  boat  but  once.  I  went  up  with 
Ben  shortly  after  my  arrival  and  he  saw  right  away 
that  I  had  not  had  enough  training  on  boats.  Of 
course  I  was  anxious  to  fly  them  right  off  and  our 
Squadron  Commander  had  me  down  as  being  fully 
trained.  Ben  took  me  aside  and  very  clearly  pointed 
out  my  shortcomings,  and  then  told  the  Squadron 
Commander  that  I  needed  more  training  on  boats. 
I  would  never  have  told  the  Commander  myself,  and 
I  see  now  that  in  doing  so  Ben  undoubtedly  saved 
me  from  a  crash.  I  am  glad  I  remembered  to  thank 
him  for  it  not  long  ago. 

If  there  was  anything  to  be  done  requiring  a  bit 

[  296  ] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

of  extra  skill  and  nerve  Ben  was  always  there  with 
Tex  Hawkins  and  Jay  Schieffelin. 

I  think  it  does  not  take  very  much  of  a  man  to 
stand  out  above  his  fellows  in  quiet  times  and  in  a 
peaceful  place,  but  if  you  knew  most  of  the  men  at 
Killingholme  I  think  you  would  realize  what  calibre 
of  a  man  it  took  to  stand  out  above  them,  and  Ben 
was  head  and  shoulders  above  them  all. 

He  did  not  have  his  equal  in  judgment,  in  abso- 
lute fearlessness  or  in  value  to  the  Service.  And  as 
a  friend  there  was  no  one  with  the  same  quiet  dignity, 
keen  sense  of  humor  and  lovable  personality.  Under- 
lying it  all  Ben  had  an  iron  sense  of  duty  and  what 
is  right,  and  I  do  not  think  there  is  a  thing  in  the 
world  he  would  not  have  done  or  tried  to  do  if  he 
thought  it  was  his  duty. 

I  have  a  boy  of  my  own,  Mrs.  Chase,  five  years 
old,  and  I  only  wish  to  have  him  grow  up  to  be  such 
a  man  as  Ben  was.     More  than  that  I  cannot  say. 

We    who    have    sons    and    daughters    growing    up 

realize  that  it  is  men  like  Ben  who  have  made  the 

world  a  safe  place  for  our  little  folks  to  live  in,  and 

some  time  I  hope  to  be  able  to  thank  him  for  the 

part  he  has  done  so  bravely,   so  cheerfully,   and  so 

self-sacrificinffly.  ^  •  i 

^  "^  hmcerely, 

J.  E.  Baum,  Jr. 

(Ensign,  U.  S.  N.  R.  F.  C.) 

Washington,   D.   C, 
December  27,  1918. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  have  wanted  to  write  you 
for  many  weeks,  and  then  put  it  off  in  hopes  of  see- 

[  297  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

ing  you.  The  day  I  left  Killingholme  for  home,  De- 
cember 11,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Chase.  We 
left  England  in  a  great  hurry,  but  none  too  soon  for 
any  of  us,  and  we  were  home  for  Christmas. 

It  seems  I  shall  always  know  you  as  Ben's  mother. 
I  hardly  know  where  to  begin  because  you  have 
probably  heard  a  great  deal  about  Killingholme,  but 
I  wish  I  could  tell  you  what  Ben  was  to  me  and  to 
all  of  the  officers.  I  Ben  was  my  first  instructor  abroad 
on  the  big  boats.  I  landed  in  Killingholme  on  the 
fifth  day  of  July;  had  flown  boats  to  some  extent 
here  at  home,  but  all  of  us  coming  over  were  sent  with 
one  of  the  older  pilots  at  the  station  for  receiving 
North  Sea  flying  instructions,  and  it  was  my  good 
luck  to  fly  with  Ben  on  my  first  two  trips.  Our  first 
was  rather  uneventful.  We  passed  an  upturned  life- 
boat miles  out  at  sea  and  Ben  circled  it  a  half  dozen 
times  to  make  sure  nobody  was  aboard.  Coming  back 
he  gave  me  the  controls  to  land  on  the  river,  which 
added  greatly  to  my  own  confidence  because  I  had 
always  felt  ill  at  ease  in  these  large  boats. 

Our  second  flight  together  was  made  on  July  23, 
and  I  remember  it  very  distinctly.  It  was  a  foggy, 
misty  afternoon,  and  we  were  given  our  orders  by 
Ensign  Murphy,  who  was  squadron-commander  at 
that  time.  A  sub  had  been  reported  off  Flamboro, 
fifty  miles  from  our  base,  and  we  were  sent  to  a 
position  near  it  where  it  was  believed  the  sub  would 
be.  A  convoy  of  fifty  ships  was  coming  down  the 
coast  and  if  this  sub  were  not  fought  off  the  war 
channel  it  would  probably  get  one  of  the  ships.  We 
proceeded  to  the  position  to  which  we  were  ordered, 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

and  about  five  miles  distant  in  the  fog  and  mist  we 
spotted  a  sub  on  our  starboard  bow  at  about  right 
angles  to  us.  It  was  lying  on  the  surface  and  evi- 
dently waiting  for  the  convoy.  Ben  was  flying  at 
about  1,000  feet.  Harriman  and  Harris  were  in 
charge  of  the  motors  and  radio  and  I  was  second 
pilot.  Ben  said  when  we  left  that  if  anything  hostile 
were  sighted  to  bomb  from  400  feet  and  we  would 
fly  at  a  speed  of  seventy  knots.  He  proceeded  to 
the  sub  with  all  speed  and  I  believe  we  made  one 
hundred  knots  before  we  came  up  to  it.  I  shot  off 
a  challenge  light  to  the  sub  when  about  two  miles 
distant.  It  replied  by  diving  in  all  haste.  When  we 
came  over  its  position  it  was  well  out  of  sight  and 
under  the  water.  Both  bombs  went  off  together  and 
landed  to  the  right  of  its  supposed  position.  Bubbles 
and  slight  oil  appeared  on  the  surface.  Ben  then 
flew  over  to  the  approaching  destroyers  and  they 
dropped  depth  charges.  Nothing  further  was  heard 
from  it.  There  was  at  least  200  feet  of  water  there 
and  searching  the  bottom  by  divers  was  out  of  the 
question.  There  is  some  doubt,  too,  whether  it  was 
damaged,  but  I  should  be  very  much  interested  to 
read  the  sub  reports  for  that  date,  of  the  German 
Navy. 

Coming  back  Ben  again  gave  me  a  few  landings, 
and  the  following  day  I  made  my  first  patrol.  Up 
to  that  time  I  had  looked  upon  the  boats  as  a  huge 
blunder  and  hated  to  fly  them.  Ben  inspired  me  with 
a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm  for  them  in  those  few 
flights,  which  carried  me  through  the  following  months 
of  foggy,  misty  patrols.     He,  himself,  added  greatly 

[  299  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

to  the  performance  of  the  H-16  boat  when  he  looped 
one  on  the  Humber  River.  That,  incidentally,  has 
never  been  repeated. 

Benny's  and  Tex's  room  was  right  across  the  hall 
from  mine,  and  all  of  us  took  great  delight  in  curling 
up  around  the  fireplace  on  a  thick  day,  and  we  held 
great  "bickers"  on  schemes  to  utilize  the  big  boats 
and  secure  more  action,  which  was  Ben's  great  worry. 
He  repeatedly  requested  transfer  to  land  scouts,  or 
else  suggested  long  bombing  parties  as  to  the  German 
coast,  and  the  details  of  these  parties  were  worked 
out  fully.  I  remember  one  which  he  put  forward 
late  in  October.  It  was  to  fly  to  the  Terschelling 
lightship  in  formation  of  twelve  planes;  there  to  be 
joined  by  twelve  more  machines  from  Felixstowe; 
secure  full  supply  of  gas  there  and  proceed  to 
Borkum, — the  largest  German  Naval  Air  Station  on 
the  North  Sea.  If  successful,  to  return  to  the  station, 
a  total  distance  of  almost  600  miles. 

On  the  28th  when  I  was  with  Tex,  neither  of  us 
could  quite  realize  that  it  was  Ben's  machine  on  the 
water  when  we  looked  over  to  our  left  just  after  we 
were  off  the  water.  But  Tex  soon  turned  that  way 
and  landed  very  quickly.  Paul  Ives  had  the  other 
machine  and  was  there  a  few  seconds  before  us.  Those 
two  boys  were  awfully  quick  in  coming  alongside. 
When  Tex  and  I  reached  there  George  Hodges  was 
in  the  water  with  two  men  ("Garrie"  and  Harris). 
When  I  came  up  after  leaving  the  plane  I  was  in,  I 
found  myself  in  what  looked  like  a  wing  section.  It 
turned  out  to  be  a  tail  plane.     Harris  was  behind  me 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

and  somewhat  dazed,  and  Hodges  had  Ensign  Gar- 
rison on  top  of  a  floating  gas  tank.  Then  the  entire 
plane  sank  out  of  sight.  I  dove,  but  could  not  dis- 
tinguish the  bow  from  the  stern  and  knew  not  where 
to  look  for  Ben  or  the  engineer.  On  coming  up  the 
surface  was  burning.  It  sounds  odd,  but  the  water 
was  cold,  and  this  warm  gas  felt  quite  comfortable 
on  our  necks.  George  told  me  he  experienced  the 
same  feehng.  Neither  of  us  were  badly  burned  in 
fact,  and  were  on  duty  the  following  day.  I  yelled 
out  to  him  to  get  away  from  the  gas  tank,  but  he 
was  already  ducking  "Garrie"  through  the  flames. 
Harris  was  struggling  for  a  line  which  was  thrown 
him  from  the  tug  and  I  started  to  help  him  with  it. 
He  was  all  right,  however,  and  "Garrie"  was  in 
George's  care. 

Coming  back  to  the  position  where  the  plane  had 
sunk,  I  noticed  some  bubbles  rising,  but  on  diving 
found  nothing.  A  motor  boat  came  along  from  the 
station  and  we  searched  further,  but  found  nothing. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase,  I  do  not  know  why  Ben  had 
to  go.  He  was  more  worthy  than  we.  Had  I  only 
made  out  the  position  of  the  machine  I  might  have 
found  him,  or  more  nearly  located  him.  I  felt  very 
hopeless  and  helpless,  and  I  am  afraid  only  too  gladly 
came  aboard  the  launch  when  it  reached  there.  We 
gave  practically  nothing  to  the  war  and  Ben  gave 
so  much.  We  all  respected  him  and  loved  him  greatly, 
and  have  a  solemn  joy  in  remembering  that  we  knew 
him  at  Killingholme. 

I  trust  I  may  be  sent  to  Florida  soon  before  leav- 

[  301  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

ing  the  Navy,  or  perhaps  meet  you  when  you  come 
to  Germantown. 

With  sincerest  sympathy, 

Richard  Harper  McCann. 

Boston,  Mass., 
February  3,  1919. 

Dear  Mr.  Chase:  Your  letter  of  January  fourth 
was  forwarded  to  me  last  week  after  going  to  Miami 
and  back  to  Washington. 

I  surely  appreciate  your  kindness  in  wishing  me 
to  be  your  guest,  and  only  wish  I  were  in  position 
to  accept  your  invitation.  .  .  . 

I  knew  Ben  very  well,  in  fact  spent  six  months  in 
the  next  room  to  him.  His  clean,  fine  spirit  has  been 
a  constant  inspiration  to  all  of  us,  but  especially  to 
Tex  Hawkins  and  myself,  who  have  known  him  per- 
haps more  intimately  than  the  others. 

In  his  quiet,  steadfast  way  he  had  built  for  himself 
a  reputation  in  the  service  which  was  the  envy  of 
every  pilot,  and  the  name  of  Ben  Lee  will  always 
stand  for  the  best  there  is  in  Naval  Aviation. 

I  know  that  to  him  his  share  in  the  war  was  a 
disagreeable  task — to  be  accomplished  as  well  and 
speedily  as  possible — and  the  future  was  a  shining 
goal  for  him. 

I  don't  know  what  I  can  tell  you  about  him  that 
you  don't  already  know.  The  accident  was  simply 
one  of  those  unfortunate  combinations  of  circum- 
stance for  which  there  is  no  explanation  and  which 
are  unavoidable.  ... 

That  Ben  was  no  longer  at  hand  to  drop  [in  on  us 

[802] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

and  have  a  talk,  was  hard  to  believe,  but  I  know  that 
his  absence  will  not  rob  us  of  his  influence.  It  was 
far  too  poignant  for  that. 

Ben  was,  in  my  opinion,  the  best  pilot  in  the  Navy, 
and  wherever  he  went  he  established  himself  in  the 
hearts  of  his  fellow  officers,  English  as  well  as  Ameri- 
can, as  an  unselfish,  fearless  and  courteous  gentleman. 

Thanking  you  again  for  your  kindness,  and  trust- 
ing that  if  there  is  anything  I  can  do  to  enlighten 
you  as  regards  Ben,  that  you  will  let  me  know,  I  am, 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

Paxil  F.  Ives. 


Princeton  University,  Princeton,  N.  J., 
October  28,  1919. 

Deak  Mrs.  Chase:  This  date  will  always  be  asso- 
ciated in  my  mind  with  one  of  the  most  gallant  gen- 
tlemen that  ever  I  knew,  Benny.  On  this  first 
anniversary  of  his  death  may  I  not  again  assure  you 
of  the  admiration  and  love  he  aroused  in  all  of  us, 
the  great  sorrow  we  felt  at  his  death,  and  the  high 
pride  we  had  in  having  known  him  during  his  life. 

I  have  seen,  lately,  quite  a  few  men  who  knew  Ben 
at  different  times  and,  without  exception,  they  all 
considered  him  the  highest  type  of  manhood  they  ever 
came  in  contact  with — a  true  Christian.  He  must 
be  living  on  still  in  some  other  Ufe,  nobly  "carrying 
on"  in  a  grander  scale,  the  same  cheerful,  quizzical, 
kindly,  strong,  clear-seeing,  unselfish  Ben  that  we 
knew — but  more  so.  His  life  and  death  were,  to 
more  than  one  man,  the  strongest  of  proofs  of  im- 

[808] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

mortality.  Such  souls  as  his  must  live  on,  triumphant, 
free. 

Ben  has  been  constantly  with  those  of  us  who  knew 
him.  Every  time  I  have  run  across  a  Killingholme 
man  the  talk  has  always  come  round  eventually  to 
Ben,  and  to  what  he  meant  to  every  one  on  the  sta- 
tion. His  life  has  been  a  great  incentive  to  a  better 
life,  a  stronger  life;  his  death,  to  greater  sacrifice, 
service  and  courage. 

I  remember  especially  well  two  examples  of  two 
prominent  traits  in  him,  his  thoughtfulness  for  others 
and  his  cheerfulness  in  the  face  of  discouraging  sur- 
roundings. One  day  we  had  been  out  on  a  rather 
unusually  long  patrol,  in  rotten  weather,  and  on  the 
way  back  we  began  to  feel  very  hungry.  Most  pilots 
usually  stuck  in  their  pockets  a  sandwich  or  some- 
thing to  appease  their  own  hunger.  Not  so  Ben. 
He  produced  a  bag  from  somewhere — he  was  ever 
bringing  out  some  delightful  thing  from  nowhere  at 
the  crucial  minute — full  of  sandwiches  and  chocolates 
for  the  whole  crew.  It  was  a  small  thing,  but  very 
typical  of  the  way  in  which  he  thought  of  others 
besides  himself. 

The  other  occurred  during  a  spell  of  vile  weather 
when  enforced  inactivity,  a  series  of  unpleasantnesses, 
rows,  accidents,  etc.,  had  gotten  us  all  feeling  mighty 
depressed  about  ten  feet  below  mud-level.  Three 
or  four  of  us  were  sitting  around  grousing.  Ben 
alone  had  any  cheerfulness.  Finally  one  fellow  said: 
"Ben,  how  the  deuce  do  you  keep  so  darned  cheerful 
when  you  have  no  right  to  be  so?"  He  brought  down 
some  book,  I  forget  what,  of  poetry,  and  simply  said: 

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Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

"Here's  the  answer."  We  took  the  hint,  and  it 
worked.  Again  a  small  thing;  but  it  showed  how 
he  refused  to  be  disconcerted,  how  he  rose  above  his 
conditions.  His  cheerfulness,  humor,  willingness  to 
do  something  for  others,  helped  a  lot  of  men  to  "keep 
smihng."  His  life  was  one  of  the  most  worth  while, 
one  of  the  most  triumphant  I  have  ever  known.  The 
memory  of  him  will  abide  with  many  men  as  a  trea- 
sured possession,  a  great  incentive  for  truer  living. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Alexander  C.  Zabriskie. 

Washington,  D.  C, 
February   2,    1919. 

Dear  Mrs.  Chase:  Pray  pardon  me  in  that  so 
long  a  time  has  elapsed  since  you  wrote  to  me,  but 
my  duties,  since  the  wounded  are  arriving  in  large 
numbers,  necessitate  frequent  trips  to  many  distant 
hospitals  and  my  correspondence  has  in  consequence 
suffered.  Indeed  I  well  remember  the  night  I  crossed 
the  channel  in  company  with  youi*  son  and  those  other 
officers,  and  I  was  distressed  to  hear  last  fall  of  his 
untimely  death.  Had  I  known  where  you  were  I 
should  certainly  have  written  to  you  at  once  and  ex- 
pressed my  sincerest  sympathy.  He  was  a  splendid 
boy,  and  I  realize  the  depth  of  your  sorrow,  but  also 
your  solemn  pride  in  that  he  made  the  full  sacrifice 
in  so  great  a  cause. 

I  found  him  curled  up  in  the  upper  bunk  suffering 
acutely  from  an  attack  of  lumbago,  doubtless  brought 
on  by  exposure  to  the  raw,  cold  weather  and  also 
because  he  was   unaccustomed  to   the   vin  ordinaire, 

[  305  ] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

which  we  all  drank  in  place  of  water.    Your  son  was 

a  friend  of  my  cousin,  James  Wharton, — I  think  they 

had  been  classmates, — who  is  now  in  the  A.  E.  F., 

and  has  been  through  all  of  the  severe  fighting  since 

last  July,   was   wounded,   but   happily   not   severely. 

Jimmie  had  been  a  patient  in  the  University  Hospital 

on  one  occasion,  and  your  son  had  visited  him  there 

and  seen  me  in  attendance.     He  recognized  me  and 

it  was  thus  we  fell  into  conversation  about  things  in 

general,  but  especially  about  the  University  and  the 

home  town.     Some  remedies  I  had  with  me  and  a 

little  deep  massage  gave  him  rather  prompt  relief  and 

he  told  me  in  the  morning  that  he  had  slept  restfully 

during  the  whole  night.     When  the  morning  came, 

and  until  we  landed  in  Southampton,  he  and  his  two 

companions   and   I   continued   our   conversation,    and 

he  told  me  about  his  aviation  experiences  and  what 

he  hoped  to  do — so  cheerfully,  so  bravely,  so  entirely 

modestly  and  disregardful  of  the  dangers  of  his  duties. 

Reaching    the    Southampton    Station — while    waiting 

for  the  train  to  start — your  son  found  a  stand  where 

tea  and  war-bread  sandwiches  were  on  sale  and  came 

to  the  compartment  where  I  was  to  tell  me  of  his 

find.     A  thoughtful  act,  for  that  was  our  last  chance 

for    food    that    night.      We    chatted    until    the    train 

started  and  I  did  not  see  him  on  the  crowded  and 

darkened  Waterloo  Station  platform. 

Once  afterwards  I  passed  him  in  London,  but  not 
near  enough  to  speak  to  him,  only  near  enough  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  his  smiling  face  and  graceful  salute. 
During  our  various  conversations  he  spoke  of  you, 
asked  me  if  I  knew  you,  and  told  me  you  were  living 

[806] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 

in   the    South.      I    remember   him    so   well    and    am 
proud  that  I  knew  him. 

Always  I  think  of  a  sentence  written  by  a  Canadian 
officer:  "When  men  die  for  something  worth  while 
death  loses  its  terror."  So  it  was  with  your  boy.  I 
am  desperately  sorry  you  have  lost  your  son,  but  I 
know  your  heart  is  brave,  even  as  his  was,  and  you 
are  of  that  wonderful  band  of  women  who,  giving 
their  children  and  themselves,  made  this  glorious  vic- 
tory possible.    I  am  so  glad  you  wrote  to  me. 

Yours  sincerely, 

G.    S.   DE    SCHWEINITZ. 

New  York  City, 
January  21,  1919. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Chase:  I  received  your  lovely  letter 
this  morning.  How  can  I  ever  thank  you  sufficiently 
for  your  kind  thoughts?  Ben's  photograph,  you  may 
be  sure,  will  be  appreciated  more  than  I  can  tell.  He 
was  a  friend  for  whom  I  held  the  utmost  respect  and 
admiration  and  for  whom  I  felt  a  keener  affection 
than  any  other.  In  his  passing,  as  I  told  his  brother, 
I  feel  I  have  lost  one  whose  place  can  never  be  taken 
by  any  other.  It  is  very  kind  of  you  indeed  to  appre- 
ciate the  affection  I  held  for  him  and  to  trouble  your- 
self to  such  an  extent  on  my  account. 

I  am  glad  to  know  you  received  his  note-book 
safely,  although  at  such  a  sad  time.  However,  I 
sincerely  trust  that  it  helped  you  during  such  a 
terrible  time  to  read,  in  his  own  words,  of  the  work 
which  he  performed  so  faithfully  and  so  well.  That 
he  was  loved  by  all  who  knew  him  is  ably  proved  by 

[  307  ] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

the  little  book  brought  out  by  the  men  on  the  station, 
which  perhaps  you  have  not  seen.  In  it  there  is 
written : 


Benjamin  Lee,  Second,  Ensign,  U.  S.  N.  R.  F.,  killed 
on  patrol  duty  October  28,  1918. 

Fearless  and  daring,  by  many  considered  our  "best 
pilot,"  he  gave  of  his  best  to  the  cause  of  Democracy 
and  Right. 

Considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others,  and  unselfish  to 
a  remarkable  degree,  every  one  who  knew  him  was  his 
friend.  The  "crash"  that  caused  his  death  called  forth 
deeds  of  heroism  from  both  officers  and  men,  and  his 
loss  was  mourned  by  all. 

With  all  the  skill  and  courage  of  which  he  was  the 
master,  he  paid  a  patriot's  last  full  measure  of  devotion, 
and  those  who  knew  him  envy  him  this  noble  gift. 


What  more  is  left  to  be  said  than  is  there?  Truly 
he  was  a  man. 

I  sincerely  hope,  Mrs.  Chase,  that  if  ever  I  may 
be  of  service  to  you,  you  will  unhesitatingly  call  upon 
me.  It  would  delight  me  and  compliment  me  beyond 
words  to  be  of  service  to  the  mother  of  one  of  the 
finest  fellows  I  have  ever  known. 

Thanking  you  again  for  your  kindness,  I  remain, 
Most  sincerely  yours, 

Alan  Harriman. 


[308] 


Letters  of  Sympathy  and  Tribute 


Telegkam  from  the  Seceetaky  of  the  Navy 

301  bm  ke  62  Govt  755  pm 

DN  Washington  DC  Dec  24  1919 
Mrs.  Joshua  C.  Chase, 

1357  Riverside  Ave  Jax  Fla. 

The  Department  is  highly  pleased  to  inform  you 
that  your  son  Benjamin  Lee  late  ensign  reserve  force 
has  been  awarded  the  Navy  Cross  for  distinguished 
and  heroic  service  as  an  aviator  operating  with  the 
naval  forces  on  foreign  service. 

JosEPHus  Daniels. 


[809] 


Portions  of  Letters  and  Sketches  from 

Charles  F.  Fuller,  John  Jay  Schieffelin, 

AsHTON  W.  Hawkins  and  Dr.  Kenneth 

R.  McAlpin 


VI 

Portions  of  Letters  and  Sketches  from 

Charles  F.  Fuller,  John  Jay  Schieffelin, 

AsHTON  W.  Hawkins  and  Dr.  Kenneth 

R.  McAlpin 

The  following  letters  and  sketches  were  received 
after  the  manuscript  had  been  sent  away  for  pub- 
lication. It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  incidents 
described  had  many  of  them  happened  nearly  three 
years  ago — and  a  year  and  a  half  had  passed  since 
the  last.  "Tex"  Hawkins'  letter  was  written  on  a 
ranch  in  Colorado,  in  what  different  surroundings 
from  those  which  he  was  recalling! 

From  Charles  F.  Fuller 

,  Harvard  Club, 

27  West  44th   Street, 
New  York  City, 
April,  1920. 

Ben,  in  everything  that  he  has  ever  done,  impressed 
people,  I  imagine,  as  much  by  his  individual  way  of 
handling  problems  as  by  how  well  he  did  them. 

His  individuality  and  his  strength  of  character 
were  given  a  few  splendid  opportunities  for  free  play 
in  the  war,  and  so  I  am  going  to  sketch  one  or  two 
periods  of  his  training,  roughly  and  incompletely  of 
course,  but  with  the  idea  of  showing  how  the  different 

[318] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

sides  of  Ben's  character  showed  under  various  cir- 
cumstances. 

I  remember  him  first  at  Newport  News  when  he 
arrived  in  early  June,  1917.  When  Ben  joined  us 
we  were  a  pretty  green  lot,  and  the  four  of  us  who 
came  from  Harvard  were,  I  own,  inclined  to  think 
ourselves  rather  the  fathers  of  the  flock.  Each  new 
man  we  discussed  minutely  in  our  little  star  chamber, 
and  from  each  we  were  inclined  to  demand  at  least 
recognition  before  he  was  fully  and  freely  initiated. 
Ben  was  something  quite  different.  We  found  him 
curiously  silent  and  even  indifferent  to  us.  For  fully 
two  weeks  he  said  practically  nothing — did  not  join 
in  our  diatribes  on  the  weather,  the  machines,  or  the 
instructors,  and  kept  busy  somehow  by  himself. 

There  was  not  much  work  to  do  until  Commander 
Cecil,  U.  S.  N.,  formally  took  command  of  the  station. 
We  totalled  at  that  time  fifteen  student  officers,  eight 
enlisted  men  and  three  planes,  of  which  not  more  than 
two  seemed  ever  to  be  in  commission.  The  hot 
weather  was  beginning,  broken  by  occasional  heavy 
rains,  and  I  think  that  all  of  us  would  have  been 
dismayed  if  we  could  have  foreseen  the  disappoint- 
ments ahead  in  the  next  six  months;  but  we  started 
enthusiastically  enough,  expecting  new  planes  mo- 
mently, doing  a  little  flying  on  the  machines  already 
there,  and  doing  a  great  deal  of  dull  physical  drill. 
Ben,  like  the  rest  of  us,  was  entertained  by  the  new- 
ness of  everything,  and  I  remember  that  our  chief 
pleasure  was  listening  to  the  C.  P.  O.  drill-master, 
who  had  many  picturesque  stories  of  service  in  the 

[314] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

Far  East.  We  had  not  yet  begun  to  chafe  among 
ourselves,  and  those  were  happy  days  for  all  of  us. 

We  were  all  desperately  afraid  that  the  war  might 
die  on  us  at  any  minute,  and  the  continued  delay  in 
arrival  of  machines  soon  began  to  wear  on  our  tem- 
pers. As  I  look  back  on  it,  I  am  surprised  that 
there  was  so  little  friction,  considering  the  fact  that 
the  officers,  Nugent  Fallon  and  Jack  Geary,  were 
as  new  at  the  game  as  ourselves.  I  remember  that 
Ben  was  about  the  only  one  who  showed  no  effects 
of  the  strain.  Perhaps  the  strongest  reason  for  his 
detached  point  of  view  was  his  absorption  in  flying. 
He  saw  the  future  and  the  possibilities  of  it  more 
clearly  than  we,  with  the  result  that  he  was  able  to 
amuse  himself  continually,  just  wandering  about  the 
flying  field,  or  going  over  the  machines  again  and 
again,  or  listening  to  the  talk  of  the  instructors.  He 
and  I  were  assigned  to  the  care  of  one  flying  boat, 
and  I  shall  never  forget  his  conscientiousness,  which 
came  not  from  any  desire  for  kudos  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Commanding  Officer,  but  because  he  really  cared 
to  have  the  boat  in  good,  fine  condition.  The  setting 
sun,  dinner  and  the  hot  bath  which  awaited  us  at  the 
hotel  meant  nothing  to  him  as  long  as  the  boat  was 
not  in  perfect  condition.  I  remember  many  long 
hours  between  5  and  8  p.  m.  when  we  washed,  scrubbed 
or  filled  her  with  oil,  and  talked.  They  were  very 
happy  ones. 

Ben  had  already  shown  that  he  was  the  best  flyer 
there,  but  his  wonderful  daring  qualities  appeared  for 
the  first  time  on  his  solo  flight  in  the  boat.  I  remem- 
ber that  in  the  early  morning  he  had  been,  for  him, 

[316] 


Benjamin  LeCj  2d 

rather  depressed.  That  is,  he  had  taken  a  long 
squint  at  the  weather,  which  was  beautiful,  and  then 
made  a  little  face  as  he  looked  at  me.  When  he  got 
into  the  boat,  he  started  right  off,  and  for  fifteen 
minutes  he  did  everything  with  it,  except  loop.  We 
honestly  thought  him  mad — remember  it  was  the  first 
time  that  any  one  there  had  done  any  but  the  straight- 
est  kind  of  flying  in  them.  When  Ben  came  down, 
we  were  really  too  excited  and  nervous  to  say  any- 
thing. Of  course.  Commander  Cecil  rated  him  for 
having  done  it,  but  as  Ben  said,  "He  was  really  pretty 
decent  about  it,"  and  the  really  amusing  part  of  it 
was  that  Fallon,  who  was  the  next  on  the  list  to  Ben, 
refused  to  take  the  boat  up,  as  he  was  afraid  it  might 
be  strained. 

Soon  after  this  we  moved  over  to  the  old  James- 
town exposition  grounds,  and  it  may  interest  you  to 
know  that  Ben  was  selected  to  fly  the  only  boat  left, 
across  the  Roads;  his  first  official  mark  of  distinction. 
I  do  not  know  what  we  expected  to  find  on  the  other 
side  of  the  water,  but  we  none  of  us  imagined  so 
complete  a  desert  as  it  was — a  stretch  of  sand,  an 
office  half  built,  and  a  crane  which  broke  after  lifting 
one  machine  out  of  the  water.  To  add  to  our  troubles, 
we  were  quartered  in  the  "Gravestone  Inn,"  so  named 
by  Stone,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  been  on  the  verge 
of  collapse  for  years:  a  hopeless,  gray,  dejected  frame 
building  that  was  once,  I  suppose,  a  part  of  the 
Jamestown  exposition. 

Our  first  two  weeks  there  were,  I  think,  the  hottest 
that  we  ever  had,  and  it  was  the  only  time  that  I 
ever  remembered  hearing  Ben  complain.    He  did  not 

[316] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

mind  the  things  that  we  disliked, — the  heat  or  the 
quarters, — but  the  food,  or  rather  the  apology  for 
food  which  we  were  given,  was  too  much  for  him.  We 
pulled  through  quite  safely  however,  and  soon,  with 
the  arrival  of  a  new  lot  of  machines,  we  began  to 
think  about  the  commissions  ahead  of  us.  Delays 
seemed  to  gather  like  a  cloud — inevitable  delays,  when 
one  is  trying  to  operate  and  build  a  large  Air  Station 
at  the  same  time.  Ben,  as  usual,  took  things  more 
quietly  than  the  rest,  excepting  the  flying,  which  he 
studied,  analyzed,  and  practiced  with  a  silent  intensity 
that  we  were  only  just  beginning  to  appreciate.  It 
was  three  weeks  after  his  first  solo  in  an  N-9  that 
he  told  me  of  his  attempted  loop  on  that  occasion, 
and  described  his  failure  and  natural  fear  with  per- 
fect calm.  I  inferred  that  since  that  time  he  had 
been  successful,  or  he  would  never  have  said  anything. 
I  always  thought  that  this  was  quite  typical  of  him. 
The  enforced  intimacy  of  the  Gravestone  Inn  (you 
remember  our  cubicals  and  the  gaping  walls)  was 
never,  I  think,  wholly  agreeable  to  Ben.  He  used  to 
enjoy  the  nightly  discussions, — five  or  six  in  a  cubical 
on  the  bed  or  the  floor,  the  lamp  smoking,  and  all 
telling  their  stories,  but  I  think  he  missed  Mrs.  Blands 
and  Jack  Mabbitt,  who  always  held  Ben's  imagina- 
tion strongly.  Ben  and  I  liked  to  listen  to  the  talk 
for  a  while,  but  usually,  and  particularly  in  the  fine 
weather,  we  would  take  a  little  stroll  around  the  end 
of  the  grounds,  or  lie  out  on  one  of  the  piers  and 
hold  serious  conversation.  I  think  that  we  discussed 
about  everything  that  one  does  under  such  circum- 
stances,— love,  the  ideal  life,  ambition,  etc.,  or  some- 

[317] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

times  when  we  were  very  tired,  we  would  just  watch 
the  stars  or  the  ship's  hghts  in  the  bay  in  silence. 

I  wish  that  I  could  begin  to  make  you  feel  the 
charm  of  those  evenings — Ben  lying  face  up  to  the 
skies,  quietly  smiling  over  some  idea  or  some  little 
story  of  his  life  in  Maine.  His  gentle,  satirical  frame 
of  mind,  plus  his  keen,  though  ordinarily  well  dis- 
guised likes  and  dislikes,  made  him  really  a  remark- 
able talker  when  he  could  be  persuaded  to  "open  up." 
We  discussed,  perhaps  more  than  anything  else,  love 
and  war.  On  both  subjects,  I  suppose  our  views  were 
decidedly  immature,  but  talk  helped  us  to  crystallize 
our  emotions.  It  was  an  emotional  time  for  all  of 
us,  though  some  felt  it  far  more  deeply  than  others. 
Ben  felt,  as  completely  as  any  one  I  ever  saw,  the 
beautv  of  the  ideal  of  sacrifice, — not  in  a  mawkish 
way;  he  was  far  too  keen  for  that,  but  neither  was  he 
flippant  about  war, — an  attitude  so  usually  assumed 
by  young  men.  He  was  never  passionate  against  the 
Hun,  even  abroad, — I  think,  from  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent things  that  he  said,  that  he  felt  merely  that 
human  life  was  an  infinitesimal  thing  beside  the  fact 
of  battle.  I  do  not  believe,  although  this  may  seem 
almost  heretical,  that  he  concerned  himself  much  as  to 
whether  or  not  our  cause  was  the  best.  His  perspec- 
tive was  longer  than  that;  he  was  always  looking  at 
things  ''sub  specie  aeternitatis/'  and  the  vision  of  him- 
self as  such  a  small  pawn  in  such  a  huge  game,  with 
his  humorous  consciousness  of  the  blindness,  even  of 
nations,  made  him  feel  that  his  only  concern  was  to 
fit  himself  as  well  as  he  could,  and  to  give  with  a 
free  gesture.     This  disinterested  strain  in  Ben  was 

[318] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

one  of  the  most  precious  things  about  him.  He  never 
had  the  shghtest  touch  of  vanity  about  any  of  his 
achievements,  though  goodness  knows,  he  had  plenty 
of  cause  to  be  proud.  He  was  full  of  gentle  humor. 
I  remember  his  assuring  me  once,  in  response  to  some 
amorous  confidence,  that  I  was  in  love  with  love. 
Months  later  I  reminded  him  of  it,  laughingly,  and 
he  looked  at  me  with  a  little  twinkle,  "Well,  Chas," 
he  said,  "thank  the  Lord,  when  you  are  really  in  love 
you  do  not  have  to  pick  out  reasons,  you  just  know 
things." 

The  Station  grew  fast,  and  our  training  days  were 
coming  to  an  end,  but  there  was  one  incident  that 
showed  another  side  of  his  character.  You  probably 
remember  that  on  one  of  his  flights  (when  he  had 
almost  completed  his  twenty  hours)  he  tore  the  wing 
of  his  machine  on  a  fish-stake  while  landing.  Ac- 
cording to  established  Navy  tradition,  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  two  weeks  "on  the  beach,"  a  stupid  relic 
of  Navy  Academy  discipline.  Practically  all  of  us 
had  undergone  the  same  punishment  at  one  time  or 
another,  and  we  sympathized  with  Ben,  only  to  find 
that  regrets  had  no  place  with  him.  Instead,  he 
argued  to  himself  that,  as  the  prime  object  of  having 
an  air  station  was  to  turn  out  pilots,  there  was  little 
point  to  making  no-flying  a  punishment!  Of  course, 
flying  ivas  our  greatest  pleasure,  but,  officially,  it  was 
our  first  duty.  So  far  we  all  followed  him,  but 
Ben,  possessed  by  the  clear  vision  of  his  case,  went 
straight  to  the  Commanding  Officer  and  laid  it  before 
him.  In  any  one  else  it  would  have  been  a  mad  im- 
pertinence;  in  Ben,   fearlessly  thoughtful  always,   it 

[319] 


Benjamin  JLee,  2d 

was  entirely  natural.  The  Commanding  Officer  did 
as  we,  the  chorus,  had  expected, — swore,  stamped  and 
fired  Ben,  quite  undisturbed  and  smiling,  out  of  the 
office.  The  sequel  was  quite  a  triumph,  for  Ben  was 
placed  on  the  flying  list  three  days  later. 

The  first  phase  was  now  over.  Students  began  to 
pour  in  on  us,  and  we  suddenly  found  ourselves  in- 
structors. Ben  was  easily  the  most  popular — his 
reputation  was  already  beginning  to  spread,  and  I 
am  quite  sure  that  he  put  in  more  flying  time  and 
turned  out  more  soloists  than  any  one  else.  He  re- 
mained, as  always,  keenly  interested  to  find  out  just 
what  a  machine  could  do;  but  he  never  did  what 
many  others,  less  competent  than  he,  loved  to  do, — 
show  off  to  their  pupils  and  incidentally  frighten 
them  half  to  death. 

So  the  last  month  passed.  I  am  glad  that  it  was 
not  longer,  for  Ben's  sake,  as  he  was  really  working 
too  hard.  We  were  glad  to  get  our  orders;  not  only 
for  the  sake  of  going  across,  but  because  our  greatest 
usefulness  at  Norfolk  was  over.  The  place  had  grown 
so  enormously  that  the  old  personal  touch  was  fading 
fast,  and  there  were  plenty  of  instructors  left  to 
carry  on. 

The  trip  over  was  somewhat  disappointing,  as  Ben 
was  never  feeling  very  well,  and  lay  in  a  deck  chair 
most  of  the  time,  estimating  the  exact  degree  to  which 
the  ship  was  rolling  and  avoiding  the  dining-room  as 
much  as  possible.  Tha  only  incident  was  a  submarine 
scare  at  4  o'clock  one  morning,  when  Ben,  awakened 
by  the  ship's  guns,  thought  that  the  reports  were 
torpedoes  striking  the  ship.     He  often  spoke  after- 

[820] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

wards  of  his  fright  and  anger  at  such  an  ungentle- 
manly  attack.  I  do  not  think  that  any  of  us  remem- 
ber our  arrival  or  our  wanderings  between  London 
and  Paris  with  much  pleasure.  All  of  us  were  broke, 
except  Ben,  who  assumed  the  stewardship  of  the 
whole  party  at  once,  most  generously.  Lyman  Peck 
was  sick,  as  was  Stone;  London  was  blanketed  in  fog 
during  the  whole  of  our  three  days  there,  and  we 
were  all  a  little  lonely.  But  more  than  anything  else, 
our  desire  to  get  started  at  work  prevented  any 
enjoyment  of  the  present.  The  war  atmosphere,  a 
thing  I  can't  very  well  define,  had  caught  us,  and 
our  minds  were  fixed  on  the  future,  anxious  to  be 
done  with  the  present.  Paris  for  Ben  and  myself 
was  better  than  London.  We  lived  at  a  little  pension 
where  my  uncle  had  rooms,  and  practiced  French 
every  morning  with  the  landlady,  who  would  allow 
no  other  language  in  her  house.  At  Navy  head- 
quarters we  were  given  our  orders  for  Moutchic,  and 
a  small  sum  of  money  for  travelling  expenses ;  so,  our 
minds  at  rest,  we  proceeded  to  enjoy  the  city.  We 
arose  early,  and  used  to  walk  across  the  bridge,  down 
the  Champs  Elysees,  the  Tuileries  Gardens,  and  so 
to  the  hotel  where  the  "home  team"  were  living.  It 
was  wonderful  to  watch  Ben's  enjoyment.  Of  course 
he  said  very  little,  but  he  was  thrilled  at  everything, 
— the  shops,  the  cafes  and,  above  all,  by  the  people. 
Those  few  days  were  rather  an  oasis.  My  uncle  and 
aunt  were  very  fond  of  Ben,  and  laid  themselves  out 
to  give  us  a  good  time, — even  descended  to  taking  us 
one  night  to  the  Folies  Bergeres. 

To  our  disappointment  we  were  sent  back  to  Lon- 

[  821  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

don,  owing  to  an  outbreak  of  meningitis  at  Moutchic. 
Immediately  upon  our  arrival  we  were  assigned  to 
various  R.  N.  Air  Stations,  and  were  told  to  leave 
(at  our  convenience).  Ben  and  I  had  planned,  if 
possible,  to  take  a  few  days  for  seeing  the  city,  but 
we  were  more  broke  than  ever,  the  fog  seemed  just 
as  thick;  there  were  no  aunts  or  uncles  to  go  to,  and 
worse  yet,  we  were  now  faced  with  the  actual  part- 
ing. They  were  sad,  almost  irritable  days,  and  we  all 
left  almost  immediately. 

There  is  very  little  more  that  I  can  tell.  Two  days 
after  my  arrival  at  Dundee  I  got  a  long  letter  from 
Ben,  describing  his  station  (Cattewater),  and  enclos- 
ing a  check  for  £,25,  "Thought  you  might  need  this," 
was  all  he  said.  Wasn't  that  just  like  him?  I  saw 
him  only  a  few  times  thereafter,  although,  of  course, 
we  kept  up  a  correspondence.  You  know  of  his  ad- 
venture at  Penzance  and  his  various  movements, — 
to  Felixstowe  eventually.  I  saw  him  there  once, 
when  I  had  been  sent  down  to  help  ferry  a  flying 
boat  up  the  coast.  Ben  was  thoroughly  happy.  He 
had  learned  all  there  was  to  know.  The  Hun  was 
always  near,  and  he  felt  that  at  last  he  was  really 
being  of  some  use,  and  indeed  he  was.  The  other  men 
with  him — Jay  Schieifelin,  Hawkins  and  Potter — 
were  of  the  finest  calibre,  and  the  four  made  a  better 
impression  on  the  English  officers  than  any  other 
crowd  of  Americans.  Ben's  record  at  Killingholme 
I  need  not  touch  upon,  as  you  must  know  it  thor- 
oughly. He  developed  here  from  a  sort  of  prodigy 
of  a  pilot  to  a  full-blown  officer,  dignified  and  cool. 
From  my  position  in  London  I  was  in  touch  always 

[  322  ] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

with  all  of  our  men  in  England,  and  many  in  France. 
I  have  never  heard  of  any  one  spoken  of  as  the 
other  officers  at  Killingholme  spoke  of  Ben.  ;  He  grew 
to  be  a  kind  of  legend,  and  I  remember  several  times 
being  asked  by  young  officers  just  reporting  for  duty 
from  the  States — what  station  was  Lee  at,  and  could 
they  be  sent  to  the  same  one.  Ben  was  not  really 
built  for  big  boat  flying,  which  is  only  more  to  his 
credit  that  he  did  it  so  marvellously  well.  There  was 
always  a  scheme  afoot  that  he  and  a  few  others  should 
get  away  to  a  land  squadron  later;  the  others,  in- 
cluding myself,  were  almost  morbid  on  the  subject, — 
we  wanted  to  go  so  much.  But  Ben,  with  his  better 
judgment,  saw  that  he  was  doing  more  actual  good 
where  he  was,  and  was  quite  content  to  wait  indefi- 
nitely for  such  an  experiment. 

There  is  only  one  thing  more.  Ben  wrote  me  a 
letter  dated  May  2,  1918,  which  was  sent  me  after 
his  death.  I  am  sending  it  with  this.  On  the  boat 
coming  over  we  had  discussed  love  again,  under  the 
light  of  new  experience,  and  I  had  said  that  of  course, 
ideally  speaking,  death  was  the  master  stroke  for  any 
one  engaged — for  then  there  could  never  be  any 
disillusionment  in  the  long  years   of  after-life. 

From  John  Jay  Schieffelin 

Yale    University, 
March    21,    1920. 

Benny  arrived  at  Felixstowe  about  April  10,  1918, 
and  started  in  to  learn  the  big  boat  piloting  right 
away.  It  took  him  just  about  a  week  to  pass  through 
all  the  school  work  and  get  into  the   "war"   patrol 

[  323  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

flight.  I  don't  remember  the  exact  number  of  days, 
but  it  was  quicker  than  any  other  pilot  had  ever  done 
it.  It  took  him  about  one  more  week  to  come  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  best  and  most  reliable  pilots 
,on  the  station.  He  and  I  were  allowed  to  take  one 
of  the  two  first  machines  that  Americans  took  on  a 
"lighter  stunt"  from  Felixstowe,  and  a  cooler  head 
or  steadier  hand  on  the  controls  I  never  hope  to  see. 
We  chased  a  Zep  about  forty  miles,  until  nearly  into 
Heligoland,  and  then  went  up  to  Blaavend  Point  on 
the  Danish  coast,  and  thence  back  to  England.  We 
got  some  photos  of  German  mine-layers  (Benny  took 
them),  for  which  the  Admiralty  thanked  us.  That 
was  a  flight  of  about  510  miles.  Benny,  besides  all 
the  patrolling  he  could  get  in,  did  a  lot  of  instructing 
at  Felixstowe,  which  was  awful  nerve-racking  work, 
because  many  of  the  pupils  were  simply  fierce.  An- 
other flight  we  had  together  was  when  we  went  out 
with  another  plane  to  rescue  Colonel  Robertson,  C.  O. 
of  Felixstowe,  and  Squadron- Commander  Galpin, 
who  were  brought  down  by  the  Huns  while  doing  a 
joy-patrol.  We  found  them  in  the  water,  standing 
on  their  submerged  and  overturned  plane,  and  took 
home  Galpin  and  one  of  the  ratings.  The  other  plane 
took  home  Robertson  and  the  other  one. 

When  we  all  moved  to  Killingholme,  Benny  was 
acknowledged  the  "hottest  stuff"  or  "hot  stuff  est" 
boat  pilot  on  the  station.  He  had  a  swat  at  a  Ger- 
man sub  when  he  was  patrolling  with  Dick  McCann 
as  his  second  pilot.  The  sub  submerged  when  still 
so  far  away  that  he  really  didn't  have  a  chance  to  get 

[  824  ] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

a  sight  on  him,  but  he  had  the  fun  of  dropping  his 
pills  and  making  it  hot  for  him  anyhow.  When  Tex 
crashed  in  trying  to  take  off  after  taxi-ing  for  miles 
at  sea,  Benny  was  on  the  job  at  the  station  and  was 
the  first  to  get  out  there  in  his  plane  and  find  him. 
He  did  a  lot  of  instructing  at  Killingholme,  too,  and 
was  right  on  the  job  when  any  stunt  such  as  a  tough 
night  flight  or  stormy  patrol  was  on.  He  and  Tex 
used  to  sit  in  their  cabin  at  night  and  sort  of  con- 
spire against  the  Germans,  planning  bombing  stunts 
and  little  improvements  for  our  planes,  etc.  There 
isn't  any  way  I  can  think  of  in  which  he  could  have 
been  more  a  master  of  his  job,  and  as  for  personality, 
I  can't  write  what  I  feel.  When  you  love  a  man 
dearly  because  he  means  everything  that  is  best  in 
the  world  to  you,  and  then  he  goes  West  with  a  smile 
and  a  "Good  luck,"  you  just  get  a  lump  in  your 
throat  and  a  feeling  of  unworthiness.  Such  words  as 
lovable,  winsome,  clean,  efficient,  gallant,  unselfish, 
all  apply  to  such  an  extent  that  they  appear  feeble 
and  stilted.  Benny  Lee  was  a  gallant  American 
gentleman  and  a  true  sportsman — God  bless  him. 

It  is  great  to  recall  his  "full-out"  smile,  ready 
humor  (and  dry),  his  razor-sharp  wits  in  argument, 
and  the  thrill  of  pleasure  at  seeing  him  land  his  plane 
after  a  long  patrol  with  a  perfectly  controlled  fast 
swoop,  touching  just  an  inch  of  the  step  first,  sending 
out  a  delicate  thread  of  spray,  and  then  settling 
smoothly  in. 

I  hope  that  this  is  not  too  late.  I  can't  hope  to  do 
justice  to  Benny. 

[  325  ] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 
From  Ashtort  W.  Hawkins 

Red  Top  Ranch, 
Undercliffe,   Colorado, 
March,  1920. 

The  first  time  we  saw  Benny  Lee  was  one  day- 
early  in  April,  1918,  at  Felixstowe,  a  Royal  Naval 
Air  Station  on  the  east  coast  of  England.  There 
were  three  of  us  Americans  there  then,  two  others 
had  gone  back  home  to  instruct,  and  two  more  still 
further  "West."  We  had  just  come  in  from  patrol, 
and  on  our  way  to  the  mess,  caught  sight  of  a  forestry 
green  uniform  in  one  of  the  machines.  It  was  Ben, 
who,  although  he  had  only  just  reported  to  the  Com- 
manding Officer,  was  already  well  acquainted  with  the 
big  boats  which  he  had  never  seen  before.  That  was 
like  Ben,  as  we  came  to  know  him.  He  had  a  remark- 
ably clear,  strong  head,  and  never  rested  until  he  had 
made  himself  past-master  of  any  subject  that  inter- 
ested him. 

The  three  of  us  slept  together  and  we  had  another 
cot  put  in  for  Ben.  He  was  one  of  us  right  from  the 
start,  although  we  three  had  gone  to  school  and 
learned  to  fly  together.  There  was  something  lovable, 
almost  wistful,  about  him.  Everybody  was  his  friend, 
and  many  of  us  learned  to  love  him.  He  didn't  talk 
much,  especially  at  first,  but  was  always  listening, 
and  never  asked  a  foolish  question.  He  thought 
things  through  each  time  for  himself,  and  then  seldom 
had  to  ask.  He  came  from  a  fine  old  Philadelphia 
family,  and  his  face  looked  as  if  he  did.  He  wore 
glasses,  being  near-sighted,  but,  when  war  was  de- 
clared, he  wanted  to  fly,  and  went  into  the  Navy, 

[826] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

because  he  had  spent  much  of  his  life  on  the  water 
in  Maine  and  Florida,  and  loved  it.  He  was  finally 
accepted  after  he  first  learned  to  fly  alone  in  less 
than  two  weeks  at  his  own  expense.  Some  Navy  doc. 
used  his  heart  and  his  head  too,  for,  later,  Ben  came 
to  be  maybe  the  best  seaplane  pilot  we  had — at  least 
on  the  other  side.  He  had  come  across  in  January, 
1918,  and  had  been  flying  seaplanes  at  Penzance  and 
Plymouth  until  ordered  to  Felixstowe  on  big  boats. 
Really  good  big-boat  pilots  were  scarce  and  it 
usually  took  three  to  six  months  for  a  new  man  to 
be  rated  a  first  pilot  with  a  machine  of  his  own. 
Pilots  who  came  to  Felixstowe  all  had  more  or  less 
experience  on  other  machines,  most  of  them  on  float 
seaplanes  and  some  from  the  naval  squadrons  at  the 
front.  They  were  first  put  on  "Small  Americas,"  little 
twin-engined  boats  that  had  a  ceiling  of  maybe  a 
hundred  feet,  just  to  get  the  feel  of  a  boat,  and  then 
were  given  a  few  hours'  instruction  on  the  regular 
patrol  machines,  and  passed  out  as  second  pilots  on 
the  War  Flight.  From  that  time  it  depended  on  a 
man's  ability  as  to  when  he  was  given  a  machine  of 
his  own.  The  boats  cost  around  .£10,000  apiece,  and 
even  with  good  pilots  they  lost  on  an  average  of  one 
machine  a  week.  One  day  they  lost  four  machines 
and  two  crews  out  of  a  six-boat  flight.  The  North 
Sea  is  a  rotten  body  of  water,  foggy,  and  stormy  most 
of  the  time,  and  a  pilot  had  to  have  experience  before 
he  could  navigate  those  big  trucks  in  any  weather, 
night  or  day,  often  for  eight  or  ten  hours  on  end  over 
a  sea  that  no  machine  could  live  in,  with  a  crew  of 
three  or  four  men,  all  constantly  watching  for  hostile 

[  327] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

submarines,  war  vessels  or  aircraft.  Experienced 
pilots  sometimes  came  to  Felixstowe  from  the  front 
looking  for  a  less  strenuous  berth,  but  usually  after 
a  few  weeks  they  told  the  C.  O.  they  wanted  to  go 
back  to  France. 

We  Americans  got  permission  to  instruct  Ben 
ourselves.  We  took  him  up  for  an  hour  in  a  patrol 
machine,  and  before  we  came  down  he  could  handle 
it  as  well  as  any  of  us.  Then  we  took  turns  taking 
him  out  with  us  as  second  pilot,  and  in  two  weeks 
from  the  time  he  arrived  the  Commanding  Officer 
had  given  him  a  boat  of  his  own. 

Ben  was  of  a  slender,  graceful  build,  and  he  would 
often  come  in  from  a  hard  patrol  completely  worn 
out.  But  his  spirit  was  dauntless;  he  didn't  know 
what  being  afraid  was;  he  didn't  even  joke  about  it 
as  many  fellows  did;  his  own  comfort  and  safety 
never  seemed  to  occur  to  him.  Whenever  there  was 
any  hard  flying  to  do,  a  Zeppelin  raid  at  night  or  a 
submarine  reported  off  the  coast  with  night  coming 
on  and  a  half  gale  blowing,  Ben  would  be  the  first 
man  in  the  squadron  office  asking  to  go.  His  ma- 
chine was  always  in  perfect  shape  and  beautifully 
equipped,  and  his  crew  was  the  envy  of  us  all;  his 
wireless  operator  was  a  wizard;  his  engineer  always 
kept  his  two  big  Rolls  engines  running  like  sewing- 
machines,  and  both  used  a  Lewis  gun  with  the  best. 
We  all  laughed  at  Ben,  he  was  so  delighted  the  first 
time  he  went  on  a  "lighter'  stunt,"  where  the  destroyers 
would  tow  some  of  the  boats  on  lighters  all  night, 
at  twenty  knots  over  to  the  German  coast,  and  then 
slip  them.     The  boats  would  make  a  reconnaissance 

[  828  ] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

in  and  around  Heligoland  Bight,  maybe  up  to  the 
Danish  coast,  and  then  fly  300  miles  home. 

Some  months  later  we  were  all  ordered  to  an 
American  naval  station  further  up  the  coast.  It  was 
a  big  station  with  a  complement  of  some  1,500  men 
and  had,  what  was  considered  at  home,  splendid  equip- 
ment in  the  way  of  machines.  But  the  machines 
didn't  live  up  to  expectations,  and  we  strewed  those 
old  Liber ty-engined  boats  all  over  that  part  of  the 
North  Sea.  The  Navy  department  had  taken  over 
the  station  from  the  British  with  some  pretty  ambi- 
tious plans  of  bombing  important  German  naval  bases. 
Ben  used  to  sit  up  until  the  small  hours,  thinking  out 
these  raids  down  to  the  smallest  details,  and  even  the 
skipper  couldn't  improve  on  his  work.  He  had  some 
hard  luck  one  day  about  this  time.  He  surprised  an 
enemy  submarine  fully  blown  on  the  surface,  some- 
thing which  all  of  us  had  dreamed  about,  and  which 
rarely  happened.  Ben  had  an  inexperienced  second 
pilot  just  from  the  States,  and  he  missed  clean  with 
both  bombs. 

After  it  became  apparent  that  our  American  ma- 
chines could  not  do  the  work  they  were  intended  for, 
Ben  lost  interest  and  suggested  to  two  of  us  that  we 
get  transferred  to  a  British  scout  squadron  in  France 
for  the  winter.  His  idea  was  to  get  some  fighting 
experience  by  spring,  when  we  expected  machines  with 
which  we  could  reach  the  German  coast.  Ben  always 
used  to  talk  about  chasse  work;  it  was  what  he  was 
made  for.  We  finally  "wangled"  it  with  the  skipper 
and  got  ordered  to  an  S.  E.  5  squadron  at  the  front. 
But  at  the  last  minute  he  wouldn't  let  Ben  go  because 

[  329  ] 


Benjamin  Lee,  2d 

he  hadn't  been  flying  just  "according  to  Hoyle,"  and 
had  finally  looped  one  of  the  boats  just  to  see  if  it 
would  come  over  all  right  as  he  figured,  but  consid- 
ered by  us  an  absolutely  hopeless  thing  to  do  because 
of  their  weight  and  construction.  .  .  . 

Several  days  later  our  orders  to  France  were 
cancelled  by  'phone  from  London,  and  three  machines 
were  ordered  to  immediate  duty  with  the  Grand 
Fleet  in  Scotland.  This  was  just  two  weeks  before 
the  armistice  was  signed,  and  we  were  told  that  the 
German  High  Seas  Fleet  was  expected  out  any  day 
on  a  last  desperate  sally.  With  the  hope  of  some 
excitement,  Ben  was  in  high  spirits  that  morning. 
It  was  a  fine  day,  one  of  the  very  few  in  that  country. 
There  were  six  of  us,  all  good  friends,  and  we  had 
the  three  best  machines  and  crews  on  the  station.  We 
were  all  on  our  toes  and  going  to  show  the  Grand 
Fleet  about  American  pilots,  etc. 

Ben  took  off  first,  and  was  slowly  circling  around 
waiting  for  us.  We  two  took  off  together,  and  after 
we  got  up  looked  for  Ben  to  join  us,  but  the  sky 
was  empty.  We  circled,  and  finally  saw  a  little  spot 
of  burning  wreckage  on  the  muddy  surface  of  the 
river.  We  landed  alongside  and  our  second  pilots 
each  dived  overboard  to  help  two  of  the  fellows  whom 
we  could  see  badly  hurt  in  the  wreckage.  They  swam 
to  the  wreck  and  got  hold  of  them:  the  second  pilot 
unconscious  and  nearly  dead,  and  the  wireless  boy 
stunned  and  helpless,  when,  suddenly,  the  whole  area 
covered  with  gas  from  the  smashed  tanks,  burst  into 
flames.  Those  two  fellows  fought  their  way  out  of 
the  fire  somehow,  with  the  two  helpless  men  in  tow, 

[330] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

and  finally  got  them  on  board  a  tug  which  had  come 
up.  One  of  them,  the  same  fellow  who  had  missed 
Ben's  submarine,  then  swam  back  and  dived  repeat- 
edly under  the  blazing,  tangled  wreckage  searching 
for  him.     They  never  found  Ben  or  his  engineer. 

After  the  armistice  we  talked  to  his  second  pilot 
in  the  hospital.  He  told  us  they  were  flying  low, 
maybe  600  feet,  and  Ben  was  trying  out  the  boat, 
which  was  strange  to  him.  He  was  used  to  having 
Ben  throw  a  machine  around  and  wasn't  watching. 
Suddenly  he  felt  the  boat  slip  straight  down  and  fall 
into  a  dive.  He  instantly  looked  at  Ben,  who  was 
calmly  but  fiercely  using  his  controls,  while  a  bright 
red  spot  burned  in  either  cheek.  That's  all  he  re- 
membered. They  hit  the  water  vertically  at  better 
than  a  hundred  knots,  and  the  pilots  sit  out  in  front 
of  the  wings  in  a  boat. 

Some  naval  decorations  came  out  the  other  day, 
and  Ben's  mother  received  a  Navy  Cross.  I  don't 
believe  there  was  one  of  us,  that  knew  Ben,  who  didn't 
say  to  himself  when  he  read  it,  "Damn  good"! 

From  Dr,  Kermeth  R.  McAlpin 

New  York, 
April,   1920. 

I  met  Benny  Lee  at  the  Naval  Air  Station,  Hamp- 
ton Roads.  He  was  one  of  the  student  officers  await- 
ing commissions.  The  first  time  I  recall  seeing  him 
he  was  coming  up  the  beach,  just  after  flying;  face 
flushed  and  hair  every  which  way,  he  smiled  as  he 
talked  to  a  friend.  At  the  time  he  seemed  very 
young,  but,  most  of  all,  his  smile  impressed  me. 

[381] 


Benjamin  Lee^  2d 

Before  he  got  his  overseas  orders  I  saw  a  good 
deal  of  him,  and  we  became  great  friends.  He  had 
his  own  views  about  many  subjects  and  they  were 
honest  views,  not  poses.  In  some  respects  Benny 
was  never  made  for  an  officer.  He  liked  to  do  things 
in  his  own  way  to  find  out  if  "it  could  be  done."  I 
shall  never  forget  a  real  thrill  he  gave  me  on  one 
occasion;  he  was  coming  down  in  a  "tail-spin"  and 
I  thought  he  was  in  trouble;  he  was,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  trying  out  his  machine.  In  another  it  would 
have  been  recklessness,  in  Ben  it  was  research.  The 
fact  that  he  was  part  of  the  experiment  never  oc- 
curred to  him;  it  was  just  part  of  his  job  to  learn 
what  a  machine  was  capable  of.  As  a  student  in  the 
laboratory  is  to  the  practical  man,  so  was  he  to  the 
ordinary  flyer;  a  seeker  after  truth  if  you  will,  but 
always  willing  to  pay  for  what  might  help  the  other 
fellow. 

We  lunched  together  a  day  or  two  before  he  sailed; 
he  was  quiet  and  had  little  to  say,  not  because  he  was 
at  all  depressed,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  delighted  at 
the  prospect.  But  the  rest  of  the  party  was  talkative 
and  he  was  always  ready  to  listen. 

Several  months  later  we  met  in  the  mess  hall  at 
Killingholme,  England.  He  had  just  flown  up  from 
Felixstowe  and  was  soon  to  go  back.  We  only  had 
a  few  minutes'  talk;  he  certainly  was  all  enthusiasm 
for  his  work. 

Later  on,  in  June,  he  reported  to  us  for  duty,  and 
then  I  got  to  know  him  better.  The  same  quiet, 
smihng  boy,  with  hair  usually  mussed,  but  he  was 
rapidly  developing  that  splendid  mind  of  his.     We 

[  832  ] 


Letters  and  Sketches 

had  long  talks  before  the  fire  in  his  quarters.  Benny 
and  his  room-mate  Tex  did  most  of  the  talking,  and 
I  was  the  listener.  Once  he  asked  my  advice  about 
something  that  was  important  and  rather  delicate.  He 
was  game  and  did  as  I  suggested;  he  would  not  have 
asked  for  advice  had  he  not  intended  to  take  it. 

Perhaps  my  pleasantest  recollection  of  Benny  is  of 
a  bicycle  ride  we  took  together.  (Note:  There  must 
be  some  very  good  pictures  of  that  ride  taken  by  Bill 
Jackson.)  It  was  on  a  perfectly  glorious  day  in 
June  or  July.  Four  of  us  rode  to  a  little  inn  where 
we  had  tea  and  returned  in  the  golden  twilight  of 
an  English  summer  day.  Such  a  day  was  rare,  and 
we  enjoyed  ourselves  immensely.  The  war  seemed 
far  away.  Benny  was  the  life  of  the  party  and  all  a 
boy.  He  was  terribly  upset  because  four  of  us  could 
not  ride  abreast  without  touching  our  handle-bars. 

There  were  other  fine  days,  but  we  never  had 
another  ride.  We  settled  many  mighty  problems 
before  the  fire  instead. 

And  then  there  came  a  day  when  I  went  into 
Benny's  room.  Tex  was  out  and  Benny  was  not 
coming  back.  The  whole  room  called  his  name.  I 
was  done  hoping;  all  the  foolish,  last  hopes  were 
gone.  A  wee  fire  burned  cheerlessly;  I  gazed  through 
a  mist  that  was  not  of  England,  and  wondered  why 
such  a  life  should  go  out.  In  vain?  I  think  not; 
he  died  playing  the  game  he  loved,  not  foolishly,  but 
thoughtfully  tJiat  some  one  else  might  learn.  A 
terrible  price,  yes,  but  he  paid  as  he  lived,  Gladly, 


[333] 


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